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Manatee rescued in Crystal River with cheek hooked to flipper with fishing lure
Environment  |  Sun - March 5, 2023 5:34 pm  |  Article Hits:267  |  A+ | a-
On Febuary 20, 2023, after witnesses discovered that a small (female) manatee had her left flipper pinned to the left side of her face by a fishing lure, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was contacted. The manatee was found in this condition in the Three Sisters Springs in Crystal River, Florida. The predicament limited the manatee's range of motion and caused pain when she tried to use the flipper to swim.

The manatee was rescued the same day. The 2 year-old, 6-foot, 3-inch-long manatee was captured with a net. One end of the fishing lure came out in the process, and the other end was later removed.  The manatee was taken to ZooTampa at Lowry Park in Tampa, Florida to recover. She received antibiotics and suffered no permanent damage. 

View the manatee swimming before its rescue on the Facebook page, Manatee Lives Matter - Love Snooty, *HOOKED AND ENTANGLED MANATEE*:  https://www.facebook.com/FWCResearch/videos/505025618449322.

In 2023, as of March 1, 41 manatees (listed as a threatened species) have been rescued in Florida, four of which were struck by watercraft and three that were entangled in fishing or crabbing debris. 

 
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