The mother and calf were taken to the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa.

CLEARWATER – Police and recreation department workers from Clearwater helped wildlife officials rescue a manatee and her calf Friday (June 24) afternoon.

The mother was seen in the waters of Stevenson Creek near the intersection of Betty Lane and Overlea Street, police said. Wildlife experts from the Florida Fish and Wildife Conservation Commission and the  Clearwater Marine Aquarium came to locate the adult female, who also had a calf with her.  

Workers were able to contain them in an area of the creek and then move them carefully to shore. The baby was lifted out by workers using a stretcher, but the mother was too heavy to lift out the same way.

That’s where a front-end loader from the city’s Parks and Recreation Department came in handy. Brian DeWitt, who works for parks and recreation and is a former Clearwater Police officer, gingerly lifted the manatee from the water with the front-end loader. Clearwater police Officer Tyler Rydlewski helped get water to keep the manatees cool.

The two manatees were loaded into a special truck for transportation to Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa.

For more pictures of the rescue, go to facebook.com/clearwaterpolice.

Photos courtesy of the Clearwater Police Department.

Clearwater Police | Manatee | Manatees Rescued | Lowry Park Zoo | TB Reporter

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