Audio By Carbonatix
Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue officials rescued a 400-pound juvenile female manatee that had gotten stuck in a pump station Tuesday morning. The manatee had apparently gotten trapped in the grate of drain at the pump in New River in Fort Lauderdale.
Members of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission were also there to help rescue the manatee.
Crew members of FLFR technical rescue team and battalion 2 units went in to check on the animal and were able to lift it out using a crane. Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Deputy Chief Tim Heiser says water was pumped out of the station so the animal could be dislodged.
Video of today's manatee rescue.
Posted by Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue on Tuesday, May 12, 2015
According to FLFR, crew members from fire rescue and FWC had to go below ground to secure the manatee into the lift in order to dislodge her from the drain.
The plan had originally been to assess the animal’s health to determine if it could be returned to the wild. But after seeing that the animal had suffered some injuries, officials decided to send her to a rehabilitation center.
According to the Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue’s Twitter feed, the manatee, which seemed to have suffered some abrasions to the head and snout, was being taken to the Miami Seaquarium.
#FLFR saved female #manatee from a #storm station in @FLPD411 @FTLCityNews headed to @MiamiSeaquarium #TRT #FIREBOAT pic.twitter.com/Fy0UQRM8HI
— FLFR PIO (@FtLaudFire) May 12, 2015
