Featured Image Credit: animals.howstuffworks.com
Manatees are the gentle giants of the water, their silly looking appearance and slow movements attribute to their other name, the sea cow. These big guys are so darn cute it’s no surprise there is a whole month dedicated to them!
One of the rescued manatees in Florida named Randall was returned to the wild after spending nearly a year in rehabilitation. He was rescued after being stranded in Camp Branch Creek in the Rodman Reservoir complex in Putnam County, Florida. A Florida Department of Environmental Protection staff member saw Randall in an area that is not normally accessible to manatees and reported it to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). After rescuing the trapped giant, changes were made to prevent any other manatees from getting into that area again.
According to Manatee Recovery Coordinator Jim Valade, “Randall’s case is not unique. Every year, manatees become entrapped and require assistance. As in this instance, the public can help by reporting trapped manatees and can help prevent entrapments from occurring in the first place.” Trapped manatees average about 7 feet to 10 feet long, sometimes including cow-calf pairs. In the past 10 years, 115 manatees have been rescued after being trapped in culverts, ditches, water control structures, and navigation lock recesses. Sadly, 22 manatees have died after becoming trapped in some of these environments. “This is an issue where we are trying to be more proactive and the public can play an important role in helping us help manatees,” Valade said.
Manatees generally get trapped during extremely high seasonal tides, trying to find warm water areas, searching for fresh water, or swimming in a culvert and hitting a dead end. In 2015, 20 manatees were caught behind a stormwater drain in Satellite Beach in Brevard County. Luckily, all of the animals were rescued and released, but at high costs. The rescue was dangerous and required extensive time, staff and resources.
USFWS is working on ways to prevent other entrapments like Randall’s. For example, companies that install new pipes, culverts and other structures are being encouraged to include manatee protection devices in their designs to prevent manatee access.
USFWS is trying to get the word out on how helpful the public can be in keeping manatees safe and out of harm’s way. If you see an injured marine animal you can help by calling the FWC hotline at 1-888-404-3922. Or by dialing *FWC on a cellular device.