Dolphin Research Center’s Manatee Rescue Team (DRC), the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), and Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters, assisted by local residents, rescued an emaciated manatee on June 10 at Duck Key. The residents had earlier spotted the manatee and reported its condition to FWC, which asked DRC to respond. After finding the animal in a canal, the rescue team surrounded it with a long net and pulled it up concrete dock steps to land. The male manatee was approximately 8 feet long and so underweight that its rib cage was clearly visible below its skin. The rescuers first transferred the animal to a stretcher and then carried it to a FWC transport truck. FWC personnel then drove the manatee to SeaWorld in Orlando for further assessment and treatment. Its prognosis is unknown.
Rescue team members from DRC, FWC and Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters untangle and prepare the emaciated manatee for transport after rescuing him from a Duck Key canal. CONTRIBUTED
