FWC rescues, relocates 2 manatees found trapped near Coral Oaks golf course

Two manatees that were found stranded in a canal at the Coral Oaks golf course in Cape Coral have been safely relocated.

Wednesday afternoon, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials rescued the stranded manatees, a mother and her calf, from the Arroz Canal.

They were safely released at the Burnt Store Boat Ramp.

By noon, FWC officials had gotten the mother manatee out of the canal and biologists were performing a medical exam on the marine mammal.

Before that, the baby had already been pulled from the canal and was placed in a tub inside of a truck while biologists performed the medical exam on its mother.

During the rescue, officials learned the manatee calf was only about a month old.

The mother and calf manatees became stranded following Hurricane Idalia, where they somehow traveled over a water-controlled structure along the Burnt Store Road canal.

On Sept. 6, FWC organized a rescue and relocation of five stranded manatees at the Whiskey Creek canal in Cape Coral.