FWC rescues injured manatee from storm drain

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) received a wildlife alert report this week that a manatee was grounded in a culvert, rallying their troops to coordinate a rescue.

According to the September 21 Facebook post from MyFWC Florida Fish and Wildlife, a combination of their biologists, law enforcement officers, and local firefighters were called to the scene to execute the rescue, along with the Clearwater Marine Aquarium's stranding staff.

The juvenile, small adult male manatee was found with a large and fresh abrasion on its head. The FWC says that because of the unknown extent of his injuries, the Clearwater Marine Aquarium transported the manatee to ZooTampa at Lowry Park for further evaluation.

While the current status of the injured manatee is unknown, the FWC hope that the manatee is eventually cleared medically and can be released back into the wild soon.
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The FWC asks the public who spot injured, sick, orphaned, or dead manatees to submit a report to their Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922.
Article by Rachael Volpe