A video showing a Florida manatee swimming in circles, alone in an isolated, deteriorating tank at a Miami aquarium went viral, drawing attention to its plight and ultimately resulting in wildlife officials stepping in and relocating the animal.

The original video, taken in late November and posted to social media by UrgentSeas, which calls attention to mistreatment of animals in zoos and aquariums, shows Romeo, a 67-year-old manatee, swimming alone in a dirty, concrete tank in an area off-limits to the public at the Miami Seaquarium. Romeo had been at the aquarium since 1957, according to UrgentSeas.

But through public outcry and increased media exposure, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service stepped in and began working with experienced manatee rescue and rehabilitation experts to relocate Romeo and two other manatees who were kept together in another tank — including Romeo’s mate, Juliet — at the Miami Seaquarium, according to Phil Demers, founder of UrgentSeas.

The video had in excess of 28 million views across various social media platforms and a Change.org petition had gathered some 45,000 signatures, calling for the manatees to be removed from the Miami Seaquarium. The media exposure grew to the point Miami Seaquarium Eduardo Albor threatened legal action against both UrgentSeas and another animal advocacy group for publishing videos of the manatees, according to UrgentSeas.

Miami Seaquarium issued a statement Tuesday night claiming it had been working on relocating the manatees for months and that it recognized keeping manatees isolated was not ideal. The third manatee, Clarity, was already scheduled to be relocated to Orlando, the seaquarium said.

But the public pressure continued, leading officials to make the arrangements to move the three manatees this week.

Demers and fish and wildlife experts noted the risk involved with moving manatees of that age and after so long in captivity, calling it a “high risk move but urgently necessary given their failing healths and living conditions.”

Arrangements were made for the three manatees to be relocated to ZooTampa and SeaWorld Orlando, although it was unclear which manatees were going to which facility. On Wednesday, Demers said all three had arrived safely at ZooTampa, the largest critical care center for manatees.

Demers said the manatees will undergo a health assessment “before any other destinations are considered.”