Tracking device shows manatee doing well

CINCINNATI (AP) -- Douglas the manatee has adjusted quite well to life in the wild, marine biologists say.
The manatee spent four years at the Cincinnati Zoo after being rescued as a calf and was released into Biscayne Bay, near Miami, in March.
Researchers keep tabs on Douglas using two tracking devices attached to his tail. They say he seems to have learned all the basics in his five months of freedom.
Manatees are an endangered animal, and only 3,100 survive in the United States.
That's why it's important for the animals, which have long been in captivity, to socialize and learn from other manatees, said Winston Card, conservation program manager at the zoo.
Douglas spent nearly his entire life in captivity.
The Cincinnati Zoo will get a new manatee named Rodeo in September, and will keep him for about a year while his injuries heal from an amputated flipper.
"There are so many animals coming in through rescues, and there is a limited amount of holding space for them," Card said.
Rodeo is coming to Cincinnati because officials don't want to take up space at SeaWorld Orlando with a relatively healthy animal, Card said.