Or even worse, your sister might get moose-bit.
Posted on 06/25/2023 3:38:54 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Deputy Jill Constant jumped into the water and held the manatee's head above water for two hours until wildlife officials arrived to take over the
Manatees can weigh 1,000 pounds in Florida, but that didn’t stop a determined sheriff’s deputy from cradling one in her arms for hours so it wouldn’t sink and drown in the Intracoastal Waterway.
Pinellas County Deputy Jill Constant notes the ailing manatee had been seen trying to beach itself after reaching the point of exhaustion. It’s suspected the large mammal was suffering from exposure to toxic red tide blooms.
“This manatee is going to die right in front of us and I’m not letting that happen! We docked the boat, I took off my equipment, and got in,” Constant said in a June 20 news release.
“We stayed in the water for two hours holding its head up until it could be rescued.”
The manatee didn’t make things easy. Once it regained its strength, it began to struggle against the hands holding it in place. Photos show the water was about knee-deep, and Constant was kneeling in it.
“It started thrashing,” she said. “I thought I was going to drown.”
Fortunately, biologists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conversation Commission arrived to take over.
Manatees, also known as sea cows, are herbivores that pose no threat to humans. However, they’re not easy to control. They average 10 feet in length in Florida, but can get as big as 13 feet and 3,500 pounds, the state reports.
Size estimates for the ailing manatee were not released, but it was clearly bigger than Constant, who is with the county’s Marine and Environmental Lands Unit.
The exact cause of the manatee’s distress was not revealed, but the incident happened “when red tide levels were high,” the sheriff’s office reports. Red tide algal blooms can be toxic to Florida manatees and cause a deadly sickness akin to poisoning, according to the University of Florida.
FWC officials report the manatee Constant helped save will recover, officials said.
Pinellas County is on Florida’s Gulf Coast, just west of Tampa.
Was it hugh?
Oh! The huge manatee!
Well done.
hugh and series
I remember an episode of “COPS” set in Florida, Cop told a perp that fled into the water that it was against policy for him to come in the water and help him. The guy thought he was gonna drown.
Or even worse, your sister might get moose-bit.
“This Manatee is going to die right in front of us, and I”m not going to let that happen!”
This sounds like a line from an old fashioned, family friendly movie, where people can get involved and save animals in dangerous situations.
She will be lucky not to pick up some bacterial infection after having bear hugged the Sea Cow. Maybe there is a reason this animal was in peril.
Perhaps it was Mother Nature planning to cull certain sickly animals in that environment.
Sounds like Deputy Constant is unusually svelte for a female deputy in Florida.
“IS ANYONE A MARINE BIOLOGIST?”
No, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night.
Was his name Hugh?
I just came in to see the over/under on posting the meme!
God bless them. We spend half the year in Florida, and manatees are pretty amazing, docile creatures. They need all the help they can get.
I fell in love with Manatees years ago when visiting my sister in FL. I instantly bought a Manatee charm to put on a silver necklace that I wore often. Now I live in FL along the coast, with the Manatees nearby. Wonderful beasts. They delight me.
My wife and I bought a boat last year, and we’ve been exploring the Fort Lauderdale coast and inland waterways. There are speed limit postings in certain zones of the intracoastal where manatees live during the year. I’m always very cautious to heed those speed limits because I’ve seen photographs of these poor creatures when they’re injured or killed by propellers. Years ago, my brother and I were sitting on a dock in the Florida Keys and smoking cigars (it’s a rare guilty pleasure). It was near dusk and, suddenly, we saw a bright blue glow moving through the water parallel to the seawall at a pretty good clip. We stood up and leaned over the seawall to get a better look, and realized that it was a manatee. I love those critters. So peaceful.
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