On The Road: SeaWorld Rescues Stranded Manatee in South Carolina

Members of the SeaWorld Orlando Rescue Team took to the road this week to aid a manatee spotted in the upper reaches of the Cooper River in Charleston, S.C. Our rescue team -- along with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Ocean Service, and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources – were able to help save this wayward manatee. Due to dropping water temperatures in the river, the manatee remained close to a warm water outflow area, leaving it isolated from an adequate food source and naturally warm water. After hours of searching, the team successfully rescued the rather large male manatee, weighing over 1,300 lbs. The male manatee was brought to SeaWorld Orlando for a medical examination and monitoring before it can be cleared for return to a local (and warm) Florida waterway. 

Another smaller manatee was also seen in the Cooper River but attempts to locate that animal have not been successful. Local authorities are asking the public to report any sightings of that animal to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources at: 843-953-9360 or 1-800-922-5431 or to report them to the agency’s manatee sighting website: http://www.dnr.sc.gov/manatee/sight.htm.