BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — It took crews more than six hours to rescue a manatee that was stuck in a storm drain. A crowd of neighbors cheered when a tow truck lifted it out of a storm drain alive.
Brevard County Commissioner Kim Adkinson explained what happened. “We have about a 1,400-pound manatee stuck in a baffle box under the road that we are trying to get out alive.” Teams from FWC, Brevard County, Fire Rescue and even SeaWorld worked together to save the manatee.
“They put protection on top of it. They’re digging part of the road off. They’re putting a sling underneath to lift it out.”
Melbourne Beach Vice Mayor Terri Cronin says stormwater survey crews just happened to find the manatee in trouble. “Our people were doing a survey and one of the surveyors noticed a manatee in what is called a baffle box trapped in there.” He says a baffle box is used to trap debris from going into the Indian River. “The thought is that the manatee was seeking warmer water during that cold snap and went up the pipe from the Indian River and got stuck.”
He thinks the manatee may have been there for a week. Neighbor Richard Shine watched for hours, concerned about the manatee’s health. “It’s sad because the animal’s in stress. There’s a lot of people watching and we don’t know how long it’s been there.” Neighbors like Jenny McCart watched, happy the endangered species came out alive. “I’ve lived here 40 years and never seen this, so it’s kind of exciting.”
The area of Riverview Lane and Oak Street remains closed off until crews repair the road. Meanwhile, the manatee was taken to SeaWorld for evaluation.
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