Biologists, officers, firefighters team up to rescue manatee from shallow south Fort Myers ditch
Michael BraunWhat could have been a lonely death for an 800-pound manatee instead ended with the aquatic mammal rescued from a shallow south Fort Myers drainage ditch where it was stranded.
The animal was released later Monday at Horton Park boat ramp off the Midpoint Bridge in Cape Coral.
Passersby walking along Brantley Road near Summerlin Road on Monday morning spotted the gray-brown sea cow floundering in the shallow water and called 911.
Wes Weigel of Iowa said he was walking along Brantley when he saw something in the water.
"I thought it was just a smooth rock," he said. "Then on closer look it was, wow, that's a manatee."
The emergency call brought the South Trail Fire Department and Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission officers to the scene.
"I thought it was misinformation at first," Nate Burley, division chief of fire and life safety for South Trail, said. "It was rather labor intensive; your boots stuck in the mud. And try moving an 800-pound manatee. They are a lot stronger than they look."
The rescuers, standing for several hours in calf-deep muck and water, continually sprayed water over the manatee.
When the early morning overcast burned off and the full sun bore down on the creature, several firefighters unfurled a tarp and held it over the animal.
More:Manatee gets stuck in Fort Myers drainage canal
Biologists, officers, and firefighters helped lift the manatee. The mammal was to be taken to SeaWorld Orlando for a health assessment.
Later on, an FWC official said the animal was healthy enough to be released immediately back into the wild.
The several-hours-long rescue drew a number of onlookers who lined Brantley and the opposite bank by Cambridge Manor Place.
"I hope he's OK," said Dawn Hoalt, who works at a doctor's office not far from the ditch. "I saw the fire department and a neighbor here saw it in the canal and called 911."
After nearly three hours, the crowd broke out in applause as the rescuers loaded the manatee in a truck.
Most observers were puzzled about how the manatee could have traveled so far — possibly 1 or 2 miles— to the relatively small ditch.
Overnight rain may have brought more water to the ditch, FWC Maj. Roger Young said, allowing the mammal to swim up from Whiskey Creek.
"They wind up in all kinds of places," Young said, prompting the FWC to handle a number of such rescues each year.
More:Watch: Manatee stuck in canal in drainage canal in south Fort Myers
More:Manatees making annual migration to warmer waters
Young cited the overwhelming community support including Lee County Sheriff's Office, South Trail fire and even the passerby who initially spotted the manatee, for the safe rescue.
"They did the right thing and the call got to the FWC," he said "What we all want to see is a successful result like today is to get the manatee out and get a good assessment on it so we can, hopefully, get it back and release it in the wild."
A team of biologists from the FWC's marine mammal rescue unit were called and got the rescue going.
South Trail fire officials said they have been involved in animal rescues before, just not an aquatic animal this far from a major water source.
"This is something you just can't train for," said Gene Rogers, South Trail's assistant chief of operations.
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What to do if you see a manatee in distress
If you see a manatee in distress, you should contact FWC immediately so trained professionals can assess the animal and give it the medical attention it may need.
The FWC responds to reports of distressed manatees by investigating reports from the public and performs rescues for those animals in need of intervention.
Call FWC's Wildlife Alert hotline: 1-888-404-FWCC (1-888-404-3922), press "7" to speak with an operator. Never push back a stranded manatee or other marine mammal back out to sea if found stranded on the beach.