Retale was rescued for cold stress in Tampa Bay, Pinellas County, Florida on January 11, 2019. He was 189 centimeters long and weighed 288 pounds at the time of his rescue. Retale was transported to ZooTampa for care. He was released on February 15, 2021 at TECO in Hillsborough County. He was 231 centimeters in length and weighed 555 pounds. He will be monitored by Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute.

1. 06/16/2021 10:00 AM

   • Retale’s belt, tag, and tether were recovered today offshore, north of E.G. Simmons Park. The belt was cleanly cut on the side most likely from a boat propeller.  There is potential that this caused him some injury, however there were no manatees in the general area or in the areas Retale frequented with any noticeable injuries. FWC was made aware of the incident. He had no prior scars or identifiable markings so it is unlikely that we will be able to relocate and retag him.  Otherwise, Retale has shown good adaptive behaviors since release. He moved in and out of TECO in response to cold weather, was observed feeding regularly with GI, and was always in the company of other animals.

2. 06/07/2021 11:00 AM

   • Retale was resting near E. G. Simmons Park. There was a couple of different cavorting groups around him, but he opted out and found a quiet place to relax. A large fever of stingrays seemed pretty intent on taking his spot, circling around him until he finally moved on. Gas was observed twice.

3. 06/01/2021 11:00 AM

   • Retale has been spending more time out in the open Bay. Today he was feeding out on the flats, offshore of E. G. Simmons Park. A mom/calf pair joined him and when they started to move away, he followed. The found another area to snack on and the small group began feeding again.

4. 05/26/2021 09:00 AM

   • Retale has been spending a lot of time out on the flats but today was resting in E. G. Simmons Park. He later milled around the area until he met a small group of manatees whom he interacted with for the duration of the observation.

5. 05/19/2021 09:00 AM

   • Retale was moving out of the bay into a sheltered area near E. G. Simmons Park. He tucked under the mangroves out of the steady wind and rested for about 45 minutes. A couple of other manatees were close by and a small amount of interaction took place before Retale went back to resting.

6. 05/11/2021 11:30 AM

   • Retale has been exploring south of E. G. Simmons, up into the Little Manatee River. Today he was back in one of his usual hangouts resting under the mangroves. Some other manatee activity moved towards him and he roused himself to join in. After some socializing the group began traveling together, until they reached a dead end. The group splintered into smaller ones and Retale remained with a few animals who were cavorting.

7. 05/04/2021 08:30 AM

   • Retale was in a traveling ball of cavorting manatees near E. G. Simmons Park. They all moved together through a narrow pass and into a more open spot where there were more cavorting manatees. These groups melded into one spy-hopping, tail slapping, pec waving super group. Just at the end of the observation Retale broke off and moved under the mangroves for a justified rest.

8. 04/27/2021 01:00 PM

   • Retale was socializing with a mom/calf pair at E. G. Simmons Park. The pair moved off and Retale settled in for an afternoon siesta. Close by there was a small cavorting group. When Retale came up for a breath, precisely every eight minutes, he would move a little closer to the group. Finally, he was smack dab in the middle of them and participated enthusiastically for the remainder of the observation.

9. 04/22/2021 11:30 AM

   • Retale was resting in E. G. Simmons Park. There was a cavorting group nearby but he was content to stay on the sidelines. After about a half hour he began to travel out towards the bay. He continued till he reached the good grass and began feeding. He continued for the duration of the visual.

10. 04/15/2021 12:30 PM

    • Retale was resting near an extremely enthusiastic cavorting group, waving their tails in the air like they just don’t care. Finally refreshed or annoyed by all the splashing, Retale moved away to join a few other manatees in some calm social activities.

11. 04/07/2021 12:45 PM

    • Retale was making a thorough inspection of a sheltered area just south of E.G. Simmons Park. He slowly moved around the perimeter checking out every nook and cranny. As he was perusing one particularly interesting log, he abruptly turned around and approached a manatee in the center that neither of us had noticed before. He spent the rest of the visual with the other animal.

12. 04/04/2021 09:00 AM

    • Retale was socializing with another manatee at E.G. Simmons Park. They moved around to another spot and found another manatee feeding so they joined in. A few other animals moved into the same area and cavorting became the activity of choice. This continued for the duration of the visual.

13. 03/31/2021 11:00 AM

    • Retale was milling around a creek near E.G. Simmons Park. There were a few other manatees doing the same. Retale would greet them and interact, congregating with a few at the end of the creek. Once all social obligations were met, Retale settled in for a rest that continued for the duration of the observation.

14. 03/25/2021 09:45 AM

    • Retale was traveling with Opal for the entire observation. They were very decisive about heading into a residential canal area that they have frequented before. Once there, they seemed a little less sure which way they wanted to go. They would start up one canal then backtrack, go to a different one then back to one they already went to. They finally settled on a quiet cove where they met up with a mom/calf pair.

15. 03/22/2021 09:30 AM

    • Retale has been out and about around Apollo Beach, moving back into TECO over the weekend. Today he was resting under the viewing platform. After some of the other manatees resting with him moved out he found a group of socializing animals and joined them. He received a body condition assessment and he looked good overall. When he had enough of his fellow manatees he moved back under the viewing platform to rest again.

16. 03/20/2021 07:51 PM

    • Retale has been spending time around Apollo Beach, today he moved back to the TECO discharge canal. He was milling around the viewing platform then engaged with a couple of animals tucked back up in the mangroves. They all moved out to the main part of the canal and began to cavort. As things escalated, Retale moved away from the group over near the seawall to take a break. The cavorters eventually found him, and he moved back into the rowdy group.

17. 03/15/2021 09:30 AM

    • Retale has been spending most of his time in the general area around TECO, today he popped in and after a quick greeting to Opal found a cozy spot to rest for the morning. 

18. 03/10/2021 09:00 AM

    • Retale was part of a big social group just outside the TECO discharge canal. After a bit, the heads coming up stopped smushing together and started chewing indicating the activity switched to feeding. A passing boat interrupted and Retale was observed traveling further out to the bay.

19. 03/04/2021 12:30 PM

    • Retale was stationary in a sheltered cove off Hillsborough Bay. It became clear that he was feeding based on the bits of vegetation floating up and lots of head tossing. He would occasionally travel short distances then go back to feeding.

20. 02/28/2021 02:15 PM

    • Retale was resting under a dock in a residential canal in Apollo Beach. He moved across the canal to another dock and continued resting for the rest of the visual.

21. 02/28/2021 02:15 PM

    • Retale was resting under a dock in a residential canal in Apollo Beach. He moved across the canal to another dock and continued resting for the rest of the visual.

22. 02/24/2021 11:45 AM

    • Retale has been exploring around Tampa Bay, going north to The Kitchen and south to E.G. Simmons State Park. Today he was in TECO socializing with many of the other animals there. The weekly alarm test went off at the power plant causing a scatter drill among all the manatees. Retale popped up further down the canal and milled around between the discharges.
      
      

23. 02/16/2021 01:00 PM

    • After his release Retale lingered in the TECO canal and today was just outside the TECO canal. He was cavorting with three other manatees including Truffleshuffle and Dex. The three tagged manatees were charging around the sound keeping in a tight formation. Their antics continued for most of the observation until they separated slightly and appeared to be resting.

Data map is currently not present for Retale.