Splish, Splash: Meet Trident and Brooks at the Columbus Zoo

Jungle Jack, Brooks, and Trident are three guys with at least three things in common. First, they're all mammals. Second, they've all done a good bit of traveling. And finally, at one time or another, each has called the Columbus Zoo "home."

Perhaps some introductions are in order.

"Jungle Jack," aka Jack Hanna, is widely recognized thanks to his many national TV appearances. Hanna, former director of the zoo, has been the Director Emeritus for almost ten years. He travels from one exotic (TV) location to another and once in a while, back to the good ol' Columbus Zoo.

How Now, Sea Cow?
Brooks and Trident are manatees. As you'd suspect, they had to travel quite a way to reach Columbus. Both manatees were rescued by the Florida Wildlife and Conservation Commission (FWCC). Through the efforts of the FWCC, the US Fish and Wildlife Service's Manatee Recovery Rehabilitation Program, and animal specialists from SeaWorld- Orlando, the manatees were rescued, nursed back to health and eventually transferred to the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium.

The Columbus Zoo & Aquarium is one of eleven facilities in North America that rehabilitates injured manatees and releases them under the direction of the US Fish and Wildlife Service's endangered species recovery program.

Trident and Brooks arrived at the zoo on March 6, 2001. They may be released one day, like the Zoo's latest success story, Comet.

Comet was returned to the wild in February 2000. You can keep up with Comet (who, like all manatees, swims rather slowly) at The Comet Pages, linked to the zoo's website.

See Brooks, Trident, and even Jungle Jack at the Zoo's online habitat: http://www.colszoo.org

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