FREE ROMEO THE LONELY MANATEE

Romeo, a nearly 70-year-old manatee living in a small pool at the abusive Miami Seaquarium. The pool where Romeo is isolated, is off-limits to the public, according to self-proclaimed whistleblower organization Urgent Seas and its co-founder, marine life advocate Phil Demers, a.k.a. @walrus_whisperer on social media platforms.

Urgent Seas shared Tuesday drone footage showing Romeo swimming alone to its Instagram page. He has been at the aquarium since 1957.
“This video was taken on Nov. 13, 2023, above the Miami Seaquarium,” Urgent Seas wrote. “Romeo, a 67-year-old manatee lives in complete isolation in ever-deteriorating conditions. We must fight for Romeo! #FreeRomeo”


Slater recently reposted the aerial shot circulating on social media to his Instagram story.

“This is crazy,” Slater wrote Thursday on his Instagram story, according to reporting by Surfer.com.

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“Would be cool if everyone pressured #MiamiSeaquarium (they don’t allow tags) to let this 67-year-old manatee be free for the remainder of its life and have some companionship. Is there any reason it can’t be released?” He continued.

Demers wrote in the comments section of the Urgent Seas post that he plans to take action.

“We are hosting a protest at the Miami Seaquarium on Dec. 16, 2023, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. See you there!” Demers wrote.

The Miami Seaquarium has taken legal action against Demers, according to another post on Instagram.

“Update: The Miami Seaquarium’s lawyers have filed a motion seeking a gag order against me,” he wrote. “They’re suing me for publishing drone videos of their poor treatment of animals and the atrocious conditions they live in. More to come.”

The aquarium was under fire in August when an orca whale died months before she was going to be released after spending 53 years in captivity. The 57-year-old orca named Lolita — also known as Tokitae, or Toki — died on Aug. 18 from an apparent renal condition, according to reporting by the Associated Press.

Laurie Rudock lays flowers at a makeshift memorial after the recent death of a captive orca, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, outside the Miami Seaquarium in Key Biscayne, Fla. Lolita, an orca whale held captive for more than a half-century, died Friday at the Miami Seaquarium as caregivers prepared to move her from the theme park in the near future. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Holly, who declined to give her last name, with the group Miami Seaquarium Weekly Demos, demonstrates after the recent death of a captive orca, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, outside the Miami Seaquarium in Key Biscayne, Fla. Lolita, an orca whale held captive for more than a half-century, died Friday at the Miami Seaquarium as caregivers prepared to move her from the theme park in the near future.
Demonstrators wave signs in protest after the recent death of a captive orca, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, outside the Miami Seaquarium in Key Biscayne, Fla. Lolita, an orca whale held captive for more than a half-century, died Friday at the Miami Seaquarium as caregivers prepared to move her from the theme park in the near future.
Stephanie Lane holds a sign as she demonstrates after the recent death of a captive orca, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, outside the Miami Seaquarium in Key Biscayne, Fla. Lolita, an orca whale held captive for more than a half-century, died Friday at the Miami Seaquarium as caregivers prepared to move her from the theme park in the near future.
Demonstrators mourn and wave signs in protest after the death of captive orca whale Lolita on Aug. 20, 2023, outside the Miami Seaquarium in Key Biscayne, Florida. Lolita, who was held captive for more than a half-century, died on Aug. 18 at the Miami Seaquarium as caregivers prepared to move her from the theme park soon.
Animal rights activists had been fighting for years to have Lolita freed from her tank at the Seaquarium, the AP reported. The park’s relatively new owner, The Dolphin Company, and the nonprofit Friends of Toki announced a plan in March to possibly move her to a natural sea pen in the Pacific Northwest, with the financial backing of Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay.


Lolita retired from performing last spring as a condition of the park’s new exhibitor’s license with the United States Department of Agriculture. She had not been publicly displayed since. In recent months, new upgrades were installed to better filter the pool and regulate her water temperature.

Federal and state regulators would have had to approve any plan to move Lolita. And that could have taken months or years. The 5,000-pound (2,267-kilogram) orca had been living for years in a tank that measures 80 feet by 35 feet (24 meters by 11 meters) and is 20 feet (6 meters) deep.