Rescue Effort Is Called Off
For Memphis Manatee

Photo courtesy of WMC-TV, Memphis.

An effort launched to try to rescue a manatee spotted on a Mississippi River tributary near downtown Memphis, TN was called off late Friday afternoon.

The rescue team, made up of staff from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, SeaWorld Orlando, the Memphis Zoo, Memphis Police Department, and Tennessee Wildlife officials, searched the area throughout the day on Thursday and Friday using boats, sonar equipment, and a helicopter, but did not have any luck locating the endangered animal.

"The rescue team will come back to Memphis if the manatee is sighted again," said Patrick Rose, Executive Director for Save the Manatee Club. "Even in Florida, it is not unusual for rescuers to go back several times before they are successful. The rescue team stands ready to do whatever is necessary, and Save the Manatee Club stands ready to offer financial assistance should the manatee be sighted again."

If anyone spots the manatee, they should immediately report it to the Memphis Police Department at 901-543-2700, and they will dispatch an officer to check out the sighting.

Originally reported to the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency on Monday, October 23rd, it is estimated that the manatee swam more than 700 miles against the current and dodged busy boat traffic to reach the Memphis destination.

Manatees are an endangered species and are protected under the federal Endangered Species and Marine Mammal Protection Acts.

In the winter months, manatees are found primarily in Florida. A semi-tropical species, they cannot usually tolerate water temperatures much lower than 68 degrees for long periods of time. Water temperatures below 70 degrees usually cause manatees to move into warm water refuge areas such as natural springs or warm water effluents of power plants.

In the summer months, manatees are much more widely distributed. They travel freely around Florida's rivers and coastal waters. A few manatees may range as far west as Texas and as far north as Virginia (one manatee was even sighted as far north as Massachusetts this summer), but these sightings are rare. Summer sightings in Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina are relatively common.

"We don't know why the manatee swam so far up the Mississippi with cold weather approaching, but we are all hoping the manatee is all right and is headed south," said Rose.

Report Sightings
Memphis area residents should report manatee sightings to the Memphis Police Department at 901-543-2700.

Learn more about Save the Manatee Club's Emergency Rescue Fund.