Mother, calf manatees rescued at Orange Harbor amid cold stress concerns

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission agents rescued a mother manatee and her calf on Wednesday at Orange Harbor Mobile Home Co-op in Fort Myers, the second consecutive day manatees were rescued at the location.

The rescue effort began Wednesday morning when the Lee County Sheriff's Office flew a drone to help locate the manatees. After FWC crews left the dock, the rescue took about an hour and a half. Once back at the dock, a team of 15 people worked to move the mother manatee from the boat to a truck for transport to Sea World Orlando.

Butch Chambers, president of Orange Harbor Mobile Home Co-op, said while the co-op regularly allows FWC to use its docks during rescues, Wednesday's rescue stood out.

"This is the first one I've witnessed with the mother and the calf both being rescued at the same time, which was great to see," Chambers said.

FWC said on Tuesday that they had found other manatees in distress and would be back Wednesday to get them.

Chambers praised the work of wildlife agents involved in the effort.

"These guys do such a good job at protecting these animals," Chambers said, "It was a huge effort. You could see how many people were here."

Chambers said he hopes to see fewer manatees in danger in the future.

"That's the beauty of this place - all the animals and the dolphins and the manatees," Chambers said.

Orange Harbor is less than a five minute drive away from Manatee Park and Florida Power and Light in Fort Myers.

Last week, FWC said it was not sure how much of a role the power plant played in the 25 Lee County manatee deaths likely caused by cold stress.

On Wednesday afternoon, FWC said FPL was compliant and followed the manatee protection plan criteria.

During the cold snap, FPL reported an unplanned shutdown and told U.S. Fish and Wildlife on Feb. 5. The plan requires FPL to notify them no later than four hours after the shutdown.

The plan is important because it discharges warmer water during cold snaps to help the manatees.

FWC said in one week, at least 25 died between Feb. 13 and Feb. 18.

However, it's not clear if there were more. That's because as of Wednesday at 5 p.m., they had not updated the mortality chart.

FWC previously told Fox 4 it would update the chart on Wednesdays. In a press release, FWC said the report is updated after verification by FWC manatee biologists.

The agency said it's not investigating FPL following the unplanned shutdown.

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