Ocean Sentry
(From baynews9.com) Largo, Florida – Biologists are asking the for public”s help in rescuing a manatee that”s trapped in the Lake Seminole Bypass Canal. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is racing the weather to find the manatee before water temperatures drop to the point that the manatee can no longer survive. Biologists say the manatee got into the canal, which is between Park Boulevard and Ulmerton Road, by swimming over a spillway. They think that the high tides from Hurricane Ike made it possible.
Wayne Randall says he saw the manatee in the canal near his condo in Largo Sunday afternoon.
Garrett says right now manatees are starting to migrate to warmer waters. He says there’s plenty of food in the canal for the manatee, but the water temperature is at 68 degrees, which is on the borderline of being too cold for manatees to survive.
“Once the water starts getting below 68, and progressively further down, the animal starts becoming sick,” Garrett said.
Garrett is asking anyone who spots the manatee to call 888-404-3922 immediately, and to try to stay with the manatee if possible until a biologist arrives.
“We’re going to try and organize a rescue team to get out there and capture it. Once we capture it, we’ll be able to assess if it is sick or injured. All the reports are that the animal is healthy,” Garrett said. “We’ll hopefully then be able to move it away from that system into the salt water.”
