Manatee Rescued at Wakulla Springs State Park

{sidebar id=3}An ailing manatee at Wakulla Springs State Park was rescued Tuesday morning by a team of experts and taken to Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa for rehabilitation, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officials said.

The rescue team included staff from the FWC's Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, as well as staff from the Jacksonville Zoo and Wakulla Springs State Park.  The team used a net to capture the small manatee located approximately 1½ miles south of the park's swimming area.  The manatee was then moved by boat to the swimming area and placed on a truck for transport.

Staff at Wakulla Springs State Park had been monitoring the manatee since January and contacted the FWC when they became concerned that the manatee was not behaving normally and appeared to be having difficulty breathing.

The manatee was taken to the rehabilitation center in Tampa, where the staff at Lowry Park Zoo will work to evaluate and treat the manatee.

Pictured:  Andy Garrett, center facing camera, of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Marine Mammal Pathobiology Lab, directs the transport of an ailing manatee from Wakulla Springs to Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa.  (FWC photo by Cliff Leonard)

This article originally published on February 12, 2008.

Written by :

mkwestmark

 

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