TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission released a video of a portion of a recent three-day rescue operation on Florida’s east coast due to the ongoing Unusual Mortality Event of the West Indian manatee.
Over the last week, FWC said a large-scale rescue operation was organized by its marine mammal response team in Port St. John. The goal was to rescue numerous distressed manatees reported and monitored in and around the Cape Canaveral Energy Center site.
FWC said in its weekly update that most of the manatees being monitored were thin listing adult manatees and several that were excessively buoyant.
“These animals, a lot of them are thin. They’re showing some weird orientation with one side being higher than the other. We’re not quite 100 percent sure the dynamic between being kind of starved and have that going on,” said Andy Garrett, Marine Mammal Biologist and Rescue Coordinator with the FWC’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in a video update.
The team was able to rescue four manatees, despite weather conditions making the captures difficult.
Partners who assisted FWC in the rescue operation included the US Fish and Wildlife Service, SeaWorld, Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute, Brevard Zoo, Volusia County and Jacksonville Zoo.
Updates on manatee mortality on Florida’s east coast can be found on FWC’s website.
If you see a sick, dead or distressed manatee, call FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC, *FWC or #FWC.
