Animals
Florida Manatee Trapped In Muddy Ditch Topples Rescuers
When a Florida manatee was found stranded in a shallow ditch with just a few inches of water, around a dozen deputies, wildlife officials and rescuers got down in the mud to help.
The Indian River County Sheriff’s Office said deputies assisted the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) manatee rescue team after one of the state’s most iconic aquatic animals became stranded in a shallow ditch.
A video shared by the sheriff’s office shows the sea cow stuck in a muddy ditch with a small stream of water that appears to run through a residential area, with homes on one side and a wooded area on the other.
Around a dozen rescuers can be seen trying to safely capture the manatee with a large net and poles, but the manatee thrashes, spraying them all with mud and knocking some over.
The team eventually gets the manatee wrapped in the net, and working together, they pull the animal out of the ditch and onto a tarp.
The manatee was safely transported to more suitable habitat within Indian River County, officials said.
“Thank you to everyone involved in helping protect one of Florida’s native species,” the sheriff’s office said.
