Deputy Constant’s passion for wildlife is why she’s a member of the Marine and Environmental Lands Unit. Courtesy: Pinellas County Sheriff's Office
LARGO, Fla. - Jill Constant is a Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) Marine and Environmental Lands Unit deputy.
According to a PCSO article, a few weeks ago Constant received a call about a manatee in distress in the Intracoastal Waterway during a time when red tide levels were high.
Officials said Constant is used to residents misinterpreting normal manatee behavior as a sign that they are in danger. However, this time when she arrived to the scene the manatee was obviously in deep distress.
"We’re watching it, and it will not go underwater. It just stayed at the surface with labored breathing," Constant stated for an Inside the Star article.
After seeing the exhausted manatee desperately try to beach itself on the rocks, so it wouldn’t drown, Deputy Constant told PCSO that she knew she had to do something.
"We docked the boat, I took off my equipment, and got in. We stayed in the water for two hours holding its head up until it could be rescued," shared the deputy.
Rescuing the manatee was no easy feat according to officials.
"At the end of the process it was not happy with us! At the beginning it was too exhausted, but after a while it had recovered its strength a little, and it started thrashing. I thought I was going to drown – a martyr for the cause," Constant shared with the PCSO Public Relations Specialist, Laura L. Sullivan.
According to Pinellas officials, FWC biologists arrived on the scene and said the manatee should make a full recovery.
The sheriff's office says there are about 6,000-7,000 of West Indian manatees live in Florida. There's only about 13,000 left globally. In 2022, some 1,000 of those died from boat strikes, red tide events, or starvation from habitat destruction.
Manatees are in special need of protection and protecting the national environment has been instilled in Constant from an early age.
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Manatees require warm water which means they're heading back to the Gulf and the Intracoastal. Courtesy: Pinellas County Sheriff's Office
She has a passion for the wildlife in Florida's waters.
"I originally wanted to work for FWC or be a game warden in another state, but my heart was set on Florida, especially when I realized that PCSO has a marine unit – which is unique, because a lot of other agencies don’t have a marine unit that not only does marine safety, but also focuses on preservation and fishing. I wanted to work somewhere I could also do the wildlife side," stated Constant in the article.
Constant believes that one of the best ways to protect manatees is to teach people about them and how to properly interact with them in the wild.
"Education is our most powerful tool," Deputy Constant shared. "Most people out here do not have ill intent. They don’t want to hurt a manatee. People just get enamored of how sweet they are, how social they are, and they’ll come right up to you. But it’s that forbidden fruit. You can’t do it."
Touching and feeding manatees is against the law, even if they seek you out first. Molestation of manatees can be a felony, depending on the degree.
Deputy Constant protects many other species in addition to manatees. She also performs basic law enforcement duties but told PCSO that fish and wildlife is her niche.