By Dan Klepal
Enquirer staff writer

The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden will get a new manatee to nurse back to health next month.

The zoo had two manatees, Stoneman and Douglas, until Douglas was released into Biscayne Bay near Miami in March. Now a young manatee named Rodeo - a male about 3 years old who was rescued off Merritt Island three months ago after becoming entangled in fishing line and a crab trap - will be sent to the zoo next month for about a year.

The Cincinnati Zoo is one of only three facilities outside of Florida that is licensed to keep Florida manatees, which number only about 3,100.

Rodeo had his right front flipper surgically amputated because of his injuries. Officials with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service want to make sure the scar is healed and there is no threat of infection before he is released into the wild.

Winston Card, the zoo's conservation program manager, said Rodeo is doing well at SeaWorld Orlando, but it needs room to treat more critically injured animals.

Manatees face many dangers in the wild, including being hit by speedboats and getting tangled in fishing line. Card said details of when Rodeo will arrive are still being worked out.

E-mail dklepal@enquirer.com