Jacksonville Zoo opens Manatee River habitat to expand rescue care and public viewing capacity

A new front-of-house habitat built around rehabilitation

Jacksonville Zoo & Botanical Gardens is debuting Manatee River, a new river-style habitat designed to function both as a visitor-facing exhibit and as an expanded critical-care site for rescued Florida manatees. The project is paired with the zoo’s new main entry structure, VyStar SkyScape, which integrates guest arrival, services and viewing access into the same complex.

The new facility is intended to reduce pressure on long-distance transfers for injured or stressed animals by expanding the zoo’s ability to receive and care for manatees in Northeast Florida. Manatees brought into acute care are typically responding to a narrow set of recurring threats: collisions with watercraft, cold stress during winter temperature swings, and illness or injury tied to changing habitat conditions.

Capacity and design: multiple pools, separation options, and back-of-house treatment

Manatee River is built around multiple connected water bodies that mirror a North Florida river environment. The complex includes large public-facing pools and additional behind-the-scenes pools used for treatment, monitoring and medical separation when needed. This layout allows staff to manage animals in different stages of care while still providing substantial swimming space for recovery and conditioning.

Project descriptions indicate the expanded system holds roughly a third of a million gallons of water, with a water life-support component designed to maintain conditions suitable for both rehabilitation and display.

• Public-facing pools are designed for viewing and for separating manatees into groups when required.
• Back-of-house pools support veterinary care, controlled observation and treatment workflows.
• The river concept enables animals to move through longer swim routes when separation is not necessary.

What visitors will see—and what they may not

Unlike a conventional permanent exhibit, the animals present in Manatee River are expected to be primarily rehabilitation cases whose length of stay depends on medical progress and release clearance. That means viewing conditions can change over time, including periods when no manatees are on display if intake and recovery cycles do not align with public hours.

Manatee River is structured to let the public observe care and recovery at close range while keeping clinical flexibility for staff and veterinarians.

Funding, naming, and the broader redevelopment plan

The entrance and Manatee River habitat are part of a broader, multi-phase campus redevelopment initiative that includes additional guest circulation changes and future animal habitat upgrades. Publicly described fundraising and sponsorship elements have included major named gifts and community campaigns intended to support construction and operational readiness.

Zoo officials have framed the project as both a conservation investment and a visitor experience redesign: bringing rehabilitation closer to the front gate, increasing opportunities for education, and expanding the site’s ability to handle more manatees at once during periods of high rescue demand.