A new manatee friend now calls The Seas with Nemo & Friends at EPCOT home after Lil Joe’s previous companion, Lou, was recently relocated.

New Manatee at The Seas

The new manatee is named Inigo. Today, September 20, 2024, was his first day out in guest view at The Seas. His weight and history have yet to be added to the board at their tank.

Joe’s former companion manatee, Lou, was moved from The Seas to another rehabilitation center on September 11. Inigo has taken his place. According to the Orlando Sentinel, Lou’s relocation was done “as part of a broader set of manatee moves around the state,” under the recommendation of the Manatee Rehabilitation Partnership and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services. Three male dolphins will also be relocated to the Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park in late October.

While we will greatly miss Lou, we do look forward to aiding this other manatee in the next stage of rehabilitation as we continue to do our part in addressing the manatee crisis in Florida, which has seen declining manatee populations in the past few years.

Statement from Walt Disney World

We caught Lil Joe and Inigo just after a lettuce feeding in their tank.

The pair were hanging out side-by-side after Inigo rammed Lil Joe (playfully).

The Seas with Nemo & Friends is located in World Nature at EPCOT, and features a “Finding Nemo”-themed dark ride with views into the 5.7-million-gallon aquarium inside the pavilion. The aquarium is home to fish and sharks, and here, guests can learn more about marine biology and life under the sea.

Welcome, Inigo!

The Seas With Nemo & Friends

Formerly known as The Living Seas, The Seas With Nemo & Friends is a pavilion in World Nature at EPCOT. The pavilion originally opened in 1986. It closed in 2005, eventually reopening in 2007 in its present-day form. The reimagining of EPCOT brought back the Living Seas logo for the pavilion. Since then, updates have been made to the pavilion, including a refurbishment of the nursery and restored special effects.

It’s home to the marquee attraction, The Seas With Nemo & Friends, Turtle Talk With Crush, the Coral Reef Restaurant, and Sea Base —where Lil Joe and Inigo live.

Sea Base is where guests can explore the Caribbean Coral Reef Aquarium. It’s over 5.7 gallons and plays host to more than 60 species. In conjunction with the Disney Conservation Fund since its inception in 1995, the EPCOT aquarium has been helping to rehabilitate sealife and help with cleanup efforts. It’s not just manatees who go through the process — the EPCOT aquarium and nursery help return multiple species to their natural environments, including sea turtles.

EPCOT Manatee Rehabilitation Program

West Indian manatees like Lil Joe and Inigo are native to the Florida area and are considered a “threatened” species by the Fish and Wildlife Service. Disney works in conjunction with local associations to rehabilitate injured or orphaned manatee with the ultimate goal of helping them return to their natural habitat. In 2022, a young manatee named Plantaina was released at a freshwater spring in Florida. To date, the program at EPCOT has helped rehabilitate and release over 25 manatees.

In addition to providing a rehabilitation home and care for manatees, Disney contributes financially to nonprofit organizations for further study of manatees and to provide care for manatees suffering from cold stress — a condition harmful to a manatee’s health but not severe enough to require long term rehab.

Are you excited to see a new friend for Lil Joe now at The Seas with Nemo & Friends? Will you miss Lou and the three dolphins? Let us know in the comments and on social media.

For the latest Disney Parks news and info, follow WDW News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.