Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies

Despite a couple of setbacks, Buttonwood is getting better

The baby manatee is gaining weight even though he had trouble bottle feeding and nursing from a surrogate mother.

TAMPA - He was abandoned by his birth mother, rejected by a foster mother and suffered from low birth weight. Despite his challenges, Lowry Park Zoo's latest darling, Buttonwood, is starting to show signs of success.

The baby manatee has been fighting to survive since May 14, when he was rescued off the shores of Buttonwood Bay south of Naples. Caretakers at the zoo attempted to bottle feed Buttonwood, but he never got the hang of it.

Then a lactating female manatee, Sani, was put in his tank in hopes that he would feed from her. He welcomed the foster mother, but after three days of nursing, Sani rejected him. No one can say for sure why she rejected him, but Virginia Edmonds, assistant curator of Florida mammals, said it was probably because Sani is trying to breed or she just lost a calf before being rescued and was confused by Buttonwood's feeding needs.

Buttonwood now receives nourishment from a feeding tube, which is placed in his stomach every three hours to dispense 7 ounces of vegetarian formula.

Weight gain has been a goal for those treating Buttonwood. He originally weighed 48 pounds, and after he arrived at the center, his weight slipped to 47 at his lowest. Edmonds said Buttonwood's weight now is 53 pounds.

"We are hoping by the end of the week, he'll be up to 60 pounds," she said.

Buttonwood's stay is estimated to be at least a year, until he reaches a minimum weight of 200 pounds. He has a three-tank area to swim in where he can be viewed by the public.

Lowry Park Zoo specializes in caring for rescued manatees suffering from the effects of red tide and other injuries.

According to its Web site, more than 100 manatees have been rescued and brought to the zoo's manatee and aquatic center since 1991.

Eighty-five percent of the manatees that survive longer than 48 hours are successfully treated and returned to Florida waterways.