This is the moment a group of onlookers help officials to return a beached manatee back to the water after it washed up off the coast of Florida.
Posted by Boynton Beach Police Department on Wednesday, July 11, 2018
The 10-foot male was successfully relocated but not before biologists photographed and tagged the creature.
Posted by Boynton Beach Police Department on Wednesday, July 11, 2018
It became stuck near to Beercan Island in Tampa Bay, next to the Boynton Beach inlet.
We worked with @MyFWC and a group of teens to rescue a beached manatee today off Beercan Island. The 10-foot male is now swimming freely. 💙 #teamwork #bbpdpride pic.twitter.com/TNxt5u9Z7s
— Boynton Beach Police (@BBPD) July 12, 2018
It was first spotted by a man who was fishing off the seawall. He contacted the Florida Fish And Wildlife Conservation Commission which contacted the marine unit at Boynton Beach Police Department for immediate assistance.
Pictures of the rescue were shared by the police on social media.
Posted by Boynton Beach Police Department on Wednesday, July 11, 2018
The department wrote: “FWC then arrived with a team of biologists who took measurements, documented scars for Photo-ID, and inserted microchips in case the manatee is rescued or recovered in the future.
“Then, with assistance from onlookers, they successfully relocated the 10-foot male to the other side of the rocks and wished him well.”
Posted by Boynton Beach Police Department on Wednesday, July 11, 2018
Swim free, manatee.