After the former resident manatees moved out, the manatee tanks in The Seas at EPCOT have four new short-term guests, with two currently visible to guests.
EPCOT Manatees
The manatee tank is viewable on the first and second floors of SeaBase Aquarium. Information about the manatees is on a chalkboard in the second-level viewing area. Cast Members will also happily share more information about the animals. There are signs with information about how to help the vulnerable species.
Cider and Mino are the two manatees in the viewing tank, while two male manatees are in a back tank not visible to guests. Cider was the first to arrive and was by herself for a day before Disney brought in Mino.
Cider was orphaned in 2023 and adopted by another mom manatee with her own calf, who may have been nursing both. Cider is 750 lbs and 3-4 years old. She has an abscess currently being watched but is at a good weight to be released back into the wild.
Mino was orphaned in June of 2022. At 470 lbs, he needs to gain weight before he can be released. He’s approximately 2 1/2 years old.
Mino has an “M” painted on his back in animal-safe material and Cider has a stripe, to help identify the animals. Mino also had a mark on his tail but it’s already fading.
Thursday was Cider and Mino’s first day in this tank and they were wary of coming out into the viewing area. Cast Members fed them lettuce in the back tank and we could see them chomping away through the window.
The manatees kept peeking through the window. Cider in particular seemed interested in the viewing tank.
After a few minutes of peering through the window, Cider finally came through and swam a lap for us.
She was only out for a moment before rushing back through the window.
The Seas’ former manatees, Lil Joe and Inigo, were removed in mid January and successfully relocated to Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park. Lil Joe had lived at EPCOT for several years but Inigo had only moved to the park in September, soon after manatee Lou moved out to a manatee rehabilitation center. Three male dolphins were also relocated to Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park.
The changes were recommended by the Manatee Rehabilitation Partnership and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services. The Seas has shifted from long-term to short-term care and will accept animals with more critical needs. This means we’ll likely see several more manatees rotate in and out of SeaBase Aquarium over the coming years.
See Cider and Mino in action in our video below:
For the latest Disney Parks news and info, follow WDW News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.