When Hurricane Helene tore through the southeast, it left a 500-mile path of devastation in its wake, from the Florida Gulf all the way to the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina.
In Florida, the National Weather service reported that the storm surge climbed to 15 feet above ground level. The force of the water lifted boats into front yards, destroyed businesses, and washed away entire homes.
“I’ve got a boat sitting in the road in front of me right now and fish in our yard,” Steinhatchee resident Jules Carl told CNN.
The natural disaster also took a toll on Florida’s beloved “sea cows,” leaving countless manatees stranded throughout the state in city streets, fields, and ponds.
Fortunately, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission immediately launched into action to save them.
“In collaboration with the public and a network of partners, our biologists have been responding to reports of stranded manatees caused by Helene,” the FWC posted on their official Facebook page.
In their post, the organization included photos of a manatee rescue on September 30, when the 1,000-pound mammal had to be lifted off of the MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa.
“While our top priority has been to help residents and visitors of Florida recover from the impacts of Helene, we are also working swiftly to rehabilitate and conserve these gentle giants,” the FWC wrote in their post.
Manatees are listed as a threatened species in Florida. Outside of severe weather events, the major threats to manatees include accidental boat deaths, red tide algae blooms, and the shrinking size of their natural habitat.
In the wake of Helene, it may take months — or years — to restore the waterways that manatees call home back to what they once were.
But right now the focus is just on keeping them alive.
As the FWC conducted rescue operations throughout Florida, they encouraged locals to report any sightings of injured and stranded manatees to their Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922.
Beneath the FWC’s post, Facebook users also used the social media site to report manatee sightings up and down the coast, from Bayport and Gulfport, to the aptly named Manatee County.
The tips were mixed with words of praise from Florida locals, who thanked the FWC rescue team for “helping the sea potatoes.”
“We appreciate everyone’s dedication and hard work rescuing and rehabbing our wildlife,” one local commented.
“Thank you for helping those amazing creatures,” another user chimed in.
One Florida resident wrote: “Seeing this after seeing so much damage and destruction really warms my heart.”
Header images via the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission