Men Attempt Rescue of Manatees Trapped After Hurricane Irma Drains Bay

An unusual sight caught Tampa Bay residents off guard Sunday when winds from Hurricane Irma drained waterways around the city.

A pair of manatees apparently were also caught off guard and found themselves stranded by the rapid retreat of waters in the bay.

In a Facebook post, Michale Sechler said he went to the bay with some friends to check out the phenomenon when they noticed two large objects lying in the mud.

"We took off our shoes and walked out through the shells to find two beached manatees," Sechler wrote. "One wasn't moving, the other was breathing and had water in its eyes."

Sechler said the group tried to move the massive animals, to no avail.

They then tried to call local authorities and animal services to help but received no answer.  

"We gave them as much water as we could, hoping the rain and storm surge come soon enough to save them," Sechler said. 

"Winds on the northern side of this wind field have steadily been lowering the levels of Tampa Bay and the eastern Gulf of Mexico near the west coast of Florida," Belles said. "Marshy sand was revealed along Bayshore Boulevard near downtown Tampa on Sunday as water levels dropped as much as 6 feet." 

According to Fox 13, law enforcement joined the rescue effort but eventually directed everyone to safety as the storm approached. 

“Believe me, we tried to move them,” wrote Sechler's friend, Steven Reisinger, in his own Facebook post. “But between [the manatees] weighing over 500 lbs. and being stranded in almost mud-like sand, we couldn't make it happen.”

Not to worry, the story does have a happy ending. After the photos of the manatees were shared more than 6,000 times, Sarasota County and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission took notice and came to the rescue of the huge sea cows, reports the Atlanta Journal-Courier.