Boat Club Workers Rescue Drowning Manatee From Waters Near U.S. 41 Bridge Monday Morning

PALMETTO, FL — A drowning manatee was rescued from the Manatee River near the Business U.S. 41 bridge Monday morning thanks to the efforts of two Freedom Boat Club employees.

Wildlife experts said the manatee most likely ate some toxic seagrass with neurotoxins in it from red tide, which can impair the marine mammal and lead to drowning.

Don Swartz, an employee at the boat club’s Bradenton location, said it’s not unusual for them to receive calls from members who are out boating or workers on nearby docks if there are any issues with wildlife in the area.

“We are kind of a point of unofficial contact when things happen around the waterways here,” he said.

The club also has “a good working relationship with the” Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, he said.

“We’ve been seeing a lot of manatee struggle in the area,” Swartz added. “We get the call. We get the boat fired up and go out there. I’m the go-to guy.”

Florida has seen a record number of manatee deaths this year. As of Oct. 15, there have been 974 deaths since the start of 2021, according to data from the FWC. The highest previous number of deaths was 830 deaths in 2013.

“The red tide coats the grass itself and then goes into the blood stream and causes toxicity," Swartz said. "It makes them go unconscious and there’s a high probability of them drowning.”

According to its website, the FWC said it’s investigating this elevated number of manatee deaths and suggested the primary factor could be a reduction in food availability.

The Freedom Boat Club received the call about the struggling manatee around 8 a.m. Monday. Elizabeth Bailey, the club’s manager, fired up the boat and headed out with Swartz to see if they could assist the animal.

“Thank goodness it was alive when we got to it,” he said. “But it was not floating level. Something was clearly wrong.”

He called the FWC and a representative from the agency walked him through how to diagnose and triage the manatee.

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“We had to see what kind of condition the animal was in and if it really needed assistance or not,” Swartz said. “We quickly confirmed the animal was confused, disoriented and didn’t know which way was up.”

In fact, not long after they arrived, the manatee rolled upside down in the water.

“That’s when (the FWC) gave us the go ahead to do anything we could do to get it to breathe, to get its nostrils above the waterline,” he said.

Swartz decided the best way to help the manatee was to jump in the water and “hold the girl,” he said. “And sure enough, she started to breathe.”

He was surprised to learn that one of the best ways to get her to breathe was to dunk her face in the water.

The FWC told him that when they “submerge their head, it signals when to breathe and when not to,” he said.

Luckily, there’s a happy ending, Swartz added. “(The manatee) came around after 20 minutes of me holding it.”

FWC’s rescue crew was about an hour away when the rescue started, so he remained in the water with the manatee for about 45 minutes. He turned the animal over to them once they arrived.

They’re taking her to SeaWorld for recovery, he said.

“The good news is once (the tainted plant) passes through their system, and they get clean food and water, about 95 percent survive,” Swartz said.

To report a distressed or dead manatee, call 888-404-FWCC (3922). Cell phone users can also call #FWC or *FWC. Learn more about the FWC’s Florida Manatee Program here.