MARATHON, Fla. – An 800-pound manatee found injured in a Florida Keys canal Wednesday was released back into the wild hours after being tended to by his rescuers.
He didn't stay long, but "Coco" stayed long enough to get a nickname.
The manatee's front flippers had gotten tangled in fishing line. People had spotted Coco swimming near the Coco Plum area over the past several days and alerted the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Specialists from the Miami Seaquarium removed the deeply embedded line. They also treated Coco's wounds with antibiotics.
"When you discard your fishing line in the ocean, in the water, this is what happens," said Mandy Rodriguez of Dolphin Research Center, which spearheaded the rescue. "These manatees get tangled and what happens here is that as they tangle that monofilament on their flipper they’re creating a tourniquet, and sometimes they go as far as severing a bone and losing the flipper."
Researchers attached a microchip to Coco for future identification purposes.
