- December 26, 2024
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Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium reopened its doors to the public on Nov. 22 after a two-month-long closure from hurricanes Helene and Milton.
It was eight “long weeks” of challenging situations for Mote’s staff, said Mote President and CEO Michael Crosby.
“This really is a story of resiliency, resiliency not only of Mote but this entire community that was hit so hard with a one-two punch of hurricanes,” Crosby said. “And all of us that live in this community have been impacted one way or the other, but our staff really came together.”
The staff was in the process of recovering from Helene when Milton’s track eyed Sarasota with a direct hit and estimates of up to 15 feet of storm surge. Before landfall, Milton’s track shifted and weakened, but the staff made preparations for the worst-case scenario ahead of Milton’s arrival.
Preparing an aquarium and all of its resident marine animals is no small task.
Crosby said the team went into “full prep mode” for both storms, but more extreme for Militon due to the expected direct impacts.
During preparations for Milton, the facility's air-breathing animals had to be transported inland to Mote’s Aquaculture Research Park on Fruitville Road. This includes the facility’s birds, sea turtles and reptiles.
Mote’s manatees, Buffett and the newest addition, Lou, were moved to a sister institution also accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
“It’s also a very traumatic thing, so you have to have specialized staff, specialized vehicles to move them with,” Crosby said. “It takes a lot of time and attention and care to try to maintain the transport of these animals in a manner that is least disruptive to the animals.”
Staff also had to prepare the Ken Thompson Parkway campus by disconnecting pumps and moving them to higher ground, and ensuring generators were on standby.
After both storms, Crosby said a team of Mote first responders were sent by boat to evaluate the facility.
What they found was identical to what others in the community found: Helene did more water damage, and Milton dealt wind damage. From Helene, City Island received about 2-4 feet of storm surge, according to Crosby.
Crosby estimated that the recovery effort cost over $10 million, with at least $3 million for the cleanup alone.
While being closed for about two months, the Mote aquarium likely lost around $2 million in revenue.
Mote staff were able to restart the facility’s research enterprises quickly, most of which is done in the field, according to Crosby. This includes Mote’s ongoing red tide research project.
The first priority was the health and safety of both Mote’s animals and its staff. The second priority was to reopen for the community.
Now, Crosby and over 300 staff are ready to do that.
“I came away from this with a really renewed love for the Mote family here, and what this special culture that we have here at Mote is all about,” Crosby said. “I feel confident that we are coming back stronger, better, more resilient and it’s because of the people that make up Mote and the people that make up this community.”
When Mote reopened on Nov. 22, guests met the newest member of Mote’s aquatic family: Lou the manatee.
“Lou’s story is one that I think is very profound,” Crosby said. “Not many people gave Lou much of a chance of surviving.”
It’s estimated that Lou was born in the 1990s and rescued in December 2000 after a severe boat strike on the east coast of Florida. This incident led Lou to lose most of his tail.
This injury forces Lou to use mostly his front flippers to swim and deems him unreleasable.
Boat strikes on manatees are a common occurrence, with only 4% of adult manatees lacking boat-related scars, according to a release from Mote.
Lou spent time in other rehabilitation facilities and is under long-term care supervised by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).
Buffett was born in 1987 and arrived at Mote in 1996 after spending time at ZooTampa.
Before Lou was Buffett’s brother, Hugh. Last year, an incident caused Hugh’s death, and Buffett has been alone since then.
According to Mote, it’s been the plan since then to get Buffett another companion since manatees are social marine mammals that require companionship.
The USFWS identified Lou as a potential tank companion to Buffett, Mote’s long-time manatee resident.
Lou arrived at Mote on Sept. 11, and the staff had to work carefully to introduce the two large mammals. A large adult male, Lou weighs around 2,100 pounds. Buffett weighs around 1,800 pounds.
“We started the introduction in a very controlled method that everybody has reviewed and approved so that we have the animals meeting each other very slowly, very carefully, under intense monitoring around the clock,” Crosby said.
Shortly after Lou arrived, the Mote facility was forced to start preparing for what would be back-to-back hurricanes.
“They were getting along famously, wonderfully,” Crosby said. “Then Mother Nature sent us Helene.”
During Hurricane Milton, Lou and Buffett were a part of the crew that had to be evacuated from the campus on Ken Thompson Parkway.
After the pair were reintroduced, though, Mote staff said the two continued to be compatible so far.
For the foreseeable future, neither Lou nor Buffett will be released based on USFWS’s decision, and both will continue to receive expert care at Mote’s facility.
The pair of manatees also help Mote staff and the public learn and understand the importance of avoiding harmful contact with these animals in the wild, Crosby said.
Today, Buffett and Lou are at Mote's aquarium. Buffett enjoys kale, and Lou enjoys sweet potatoes more. Lou’s stumpy backside also makes him easily distinguishable from his tank mate Buffett.
