(FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.) — A female manatee named Marlin and its calf were rescued after wildlife specialists found them injured in Florida waters.
The South Florida Sun Sentinel reports the pair is being treated for wounds and infections at the Miami Seaquarium.
The mother was found Saturday with boat strike wounds. The female calf has a wound on her underside. On Tuesday, rescuers initially spotted the mother swimming sideways, which indicates lung damage. On Wednesday, the manatees swam away and disappeared under a low bridge in Fort Lauderdale.
After Saturday’s rescue by experts from SeaWorld in Orlando and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, both were started on antibiotics. Marlin will be scheduled for a procedure where veterinarians will drain liquid or air from its chest.
The newspaper says boats and other watercraft were the biggest cause of manatee deaths statewide last year, causing at least 136 of the 606 animal deaths.
