19 Manatees Freed: Animal Rescue Crews Free Manatees Stuck In Drainage Pipe

In Florida, 19 manatees have been freed after getting stuck in a drainage pipe. According to Fox News, it took hours for animal rescue crews to free the mammals, many suffering “scrapes and bruises” after getting stuck on Monday. Officials believe that the manatees swam into the drainage pipe from the Indian River Lagoon. Since the temperatures in the area have been lower than normal, it is believed that the manatees ventured there to seek out the warmer water.

“It’s been cold lately and these canals are all filled with manatees. I wouldn’t even begin to venture a guess as to how they got into the drainage pipes. They will go wherever there’s warm water,” said Satellite Beach Fire Chief Don Hughes.

The 19 manatees freed were all in pretty good health considering. According to ABC News, there is still an ongoing investigation into how these animals managed to get into the drain. In the meantime, a temporary barrier has been put into place to ensure that no more manatees wind up swimming in and getting stuck. The sea cows will be monitored over the next few weeks to ensure that they are healthy and thriving.

“When they were released, all of the manatees were marked on their backs with a grease pen. The non-toxic markers will allow FWC biologists to identify the rescued manatees when they check on their conditions.”

Animal rescues tend to make headlines regularly. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, a group of people in Nicaragua tried saving the life of a 59-foot whale who was beached back in November. Despite their efforts, the Nicaraguan Environment Ministry had to be called, but the whale was still too massive to move.

“While the animal stranded on the beach is a whale for sure, they still have not managed to figure the actual species it belongs to. According to several people, however, it is a humpback whale. If that is indeed the case, this is a particularly large specimen because humpback whales are usually between 40 and 50 feet long.”

You can read more about that whale rescue here.

As far as the 19 manatees that were freed yesterday, the animals did exceptionally well during rescue efforts. Since these mammals can live without being in the water for extended periods of time, it made the very lengthy rescue a little less urgent. Everyone worked swiftly to get all of these guys back into the water, and it was a job well done.

[Photo courtesy of YouTube]