DAUPHIN ISLAND, Ala. (WPMI) — The outlook is promising but uncertain for a cold-stressed manatee sighted in Alabama earlier this week. The rescued manatee is currently rehabilitating in the temperature-controlled pools of SeaWorld Orlando’s critical care manatee rescue and rehabilitation facility. Cold stress is the leading cause of death for manatees in Alabama and nearby waters along the northern Gulf of Mexico.
A local fisherman spotted the manatee in the Theodore Industrial Canal off Mobile Bay on Tuesday, December 17. Staff from the Dauphin Island Sea Lab’s Manatee Sighting Network (DISL/MSN) and the Alabama Marine Mammal Stranding Network immediately responded to assess the animal’s condition, determining that an intervention was needed. Alabama partners worked with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), and other members of the Manatee Rescue and Rehabilitation Partnership (MRP) to quickly develop a rescue and transport plan to provide emergency assistance to the manatee and transport the animal to Florida for specialized care at one of the MRP’s manatee critical care facilities (https://www.manateerescue.org/).
“The animal was skinny and had some skin discoloration that are signs of cold stress and was staying at the surface, not leaving the area, making rescue a good option,” said DISL/MSN Director Dr. Ruth H. Carmichael. “We are always concerned about cold-stress related mortality this time of year when water temperatures can be too cold for manatees to survive in Alabama.”…