BRUNSWICK, Ga. — A team of wildlife experts helped rescue a manatee that had gotten tangled in crab trap lines in the Brunswick area.
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division said it was the first recorded manatee entanglement in the state.
But it wasn’t easy. The effort took two days and spanned two rivers, Mackay and Hampton rivers, off St. Simons Island and Brunswick.
The call and photographs came from St. Simons’ Capt. Davis Galland on July 29. Galland chronicled an adult female manatee with a buoy and line from a commercial crab pot tied around it tightly.
The line was wrapped around the head and encircled the right pectoral flipper, said Jessica Thompson, Marine Mammal Program manager with DNR’s Wildlife Resources Division.
A team from DNR attached a satellite tracking tab and was able to cut away the crab trap before a storm blew up, chasing the team away.
A three-boat, multi-state crew gathered the next day to help free the manatee. Those involved included Georgia DNR, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Savannah State University Dolphin Sciences Lab.
But two other manatees nearby made the intervention tricky. At least one was a calf.
Although manatees are usually laid-back, they can be unpredictable and move fast if threatened.
The plan called for the entangled manatee to be pulled aboard the Florida Fish and Wildlife boat with a special net. It would be assessed, and the gear would be removed.
Team members removed the buoy and remaining line by early afternoon.
Thompson said she is grateful to be able to call on colleagues to help save the manatee’s life.
“We knew the entanglement was life-threatening without human intervention, and that intervening posed a very high risk for the responders and the manatees. I am grateful for our DNR team and for being able to call on colleagues whose collective expertise gained during years of manatee rescues and captures, field observations of manatee behavior, and marine mammal disentanglement made this a success,” Thompson said.
“Safely tracking and disentangling a free-swimming manatee in this type of situation requires patience, specialized expertise and close coordination among experienced responders. We were proud to work alongside Georgia DNR, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and our other partners, contributing our marine mammal rescue and research experience to help safely free this manatee,” said Monica Ross, director of Manatee Research and Conservation at Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute.
Though manatees are associated more with Florida, the large federally protected mammals migrate from Florida to turbid coastal waters in Georgia and the Carolinas each spring into early fall to feed on abundant marsh plants and algae.
If you see or photograph an entangled, entrapped, injured or dead manatee, contact (800) 2-SAVE-ME (800-272-8363), with the date, time, location or coordinates, plus photos if possible.
The public should not try to intervene. The on-call biologist will assess the situation.
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