A manatee rescued in Texas waters late last year has been rehabilitated and returned to the wild — after flying to Florida on a cargo plane.

TexasTeeMiguel, a male adult manatee, was rescued in Texas City, on the southwest shoreline of Galveston Bay, on Dec. 3.

Weighing just over 800 pounds and suffering from cold stress, the animal was taken to SeaWorld San Antonio thanks to a rescue operation involving several different groups — including SeaWorld, the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Texas State Aquarium, as well as local law enforcement and other responders — according to the Citrus County Chronicle newspaper.

After nearly eight months of rehabilitation, a much healthier TexasTeeMiguel, weighing 1,200 pounds, was released into King’s Bay in Crystal River in western Florida on Wednesday just before noon.

Late last week, the animal flew to Orlando, Fla., on a DHL Express cargo plane in a state-of-the-art custom container, designed with high-density, insulated foam, and secured on a palette that was attached to the floor for stability.

Throughout the flight, the manatee was covered in blankets and misted with water, as animal-care experts took the animal’s temperature with laser thermometers.

“Moving manatees is an intricate process, so the speed and reliability of our air network, coupled with the extensive logistics planning with SeaWorld and their partners, helps ensure these wonderful creatures get back safely to their natural habitat,” Cain Moodie, SVP of network operations and aviation for DHL Express Americas, told local television station WFLA-TV.

After arriving at SeaWorld Orlando, the manatee was monitored for 48 hours before being cleared for its final destination.

On Thursday, TexasTeeMiguel was taken by truck to Pete’s Pier in Crystal River.

The manatee was tagged and will now be monitored by a team of experts at the Dolphin Island Sea Lab in Alabama, who are conducting a manatee study in the northern Gulf of Mexico.