Florida: Nine-Foot Manatee Trapped in a Ditch by the King Tide Rescued and Released in Indian River County
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, Florida — A roughly nine-foot manatee that became trapped in an inland ditch by the king tide was rescued by a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) team and released on October 27 at Round Island Riverside Park.
According to Lt. Kevin Jaworski, a spokesman for the Indian River County Sheriff's Office, deputies received a report at 7:22 p.m. on October 26 of a manatee in a ditch in the 1900 block of 5th Avenue SE in the southern part of the county, south of Vero Beach. During the king tide, river water rose into the ditch and the manatee swam in with it, then was stranded as the water fell.
On October 27 the FWC team loaded the manatee onto a specialized transport vehicle and released it at Round Island Riverside Park. Manatees are an iconic and protected Florida species; strandings in shallow water and ditches occur around king tides and storm surges, and authorities ask the public to report trapped manatees to the FWC rather than trying to move them.
Source: GSM · America
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：佛罗里达海牛资料图，摄于水晶河国家野生动物保护区（CC BY 2.0，美国鱼类与野生动物管理局，Wikimedia Commons），非本次获救个体。A Florida manatee at Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge (CC BY 2.0, US Fish and Wildlife Service, via Wikimedia Commons); file photo, not the rescued animal.
