FWC calls off search for manatees, hopes they escaped retention pond
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - FWC called off a search for three manatees, hoping they made their way back to the open water.
They had a team of about 50 searchers at Clam Bayou in South St. Petersburg searching for two adult manatees and a calf who had gotten stuck on the wrong side of a dam.
FWC searched for three manatees that were trapped in a retention pond.
They believe storm surge from Hurricane Idalia swept them into a retention pond.
"I knew it was not right, immediately, and I knew there was no way out," said Tom Shaw, who called FWC after spotting the manatees.
When the water receded, the manatees were trapped.
FWC got a call just after Idalia made landfall on Big Bend that the manatees had been spotted.
They were worried that if they hadn't tried to rescue them today, they could have been in danger for lack of food or colder water temperature.
Officials think Hurricane Idalia is responsible for trapping the manatees. Courtesy: Tom Shaw
They suspect the manatees managed to escape.
"They [may have] built up enough courage on a high tide to swim over that structure," said Andy Garrett, the FWC manatee rescue coordinator. "We see that sometimes the baby is able to get over. The mom gets the courage now to be with the baby. male who wants to be with them. And they all found a way out. That's a scenario that I could see happening."
READ: Flamingo on road to recovery after being found off St. Pete Beach after Hurricane Idalia
After a three-hour search, they did spot one manatee, thankfully, on the open waterside of the dam.
FWC called off the search for the manatees.
They hope he is one of the three manatees. The cow and calf were not spotted at all.
FWC is not going to resume the on-site portion of this search unless they get a call that someone else has spotted one of the manatees in this retention pond.
"It would break my heart if I found out they died in here," shared Shaw.