ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Action News Jax showed you Wednesday when a group of wildlife experts and law enforcement worked to get a beached female manatee to safety.
A female 9-foot-long manatee has the group to thank for freeing her from a sharp bed of oysters after she became stranded for hours in St. Augustine.
But her rescue began thanks to the quick thinking of a good Samaritan who spotted her and called for help.
Craig Miller, who’s the curator of mammals at the Jacksonville Zoo, says it’s best to call the experts.
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“You just don’t really know what’s going on and there are experts out there that know how to handle them,” said Miller.
Miller said it’s not unusual to see beached manatees.
“The males can get pretty aggressive and they’re just pursuing,” said Miller. “Females often will try to avoid them, and they’ll go up into the shallows and then the tide goes out and they’ll get stranded.”
You may come across more manatees while out on the water this summer because the mammals are no longer considered endangered.
According to Save The Manatee, the most recent survey in 2018 shows Florida is home to more than 6,131 manatees.
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Miller said it’s best to not interfere with them.
“People are trying to do the right thing and care but when animals are stranded if they can’t get back on their own there’s usually a reason,” said Miller.
But if you see one stranded Miller said there is one thing you can do and it’s easy too.
Call the FWC Wildlife Alert Line at 1-888-404-FWCC or you can text *FWC or #FWC.
Cox Media Group
