It was the first time one of the endangered animals was rescued by wildlife officials off the Texas coast, far from the warm waters they usually frequent off Florida and Mexico.
“I would say it was in probably critical condition,” said Allan Strand, field supervisor for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in South Texas. “It was not difficult to rescue. It was hugging the shoreline.”
Strand said the manatee was clinging to a shallow area warmed to about 75 degrees by outflows from a Citgo oil refinery. The surrounding waters are about 59 degrees, too cold for the creatures that lack insulating blubber beneath the skin.
Citgo spokesman David McCollum said oil-free water was going through the outflow.
“It’s a clean outflow that just happens to be warmer,” McCollum said. “That’s why he found our outflow.”
Strand said the manatee was an underweight adult measuring 9-feet-10 inches and weighing about 600 pounds. He said officials had not yet identified its gender. It was being cared for at the Texas State Aquarium’s Sea Lab.
“It’s doing well in the tank,” he said. “They’re feeding it lettuce and things like that.”
Manatees are typically rare off the Texas coast, but they’ve been seen more frequently in recent years. Since South Texas hasn’t had a prolonged freeze in years, Strand said his department has seen two to four a year off Coastal Bend waters for the past six years.
He said this was the aquarium’s first attempt to rehabilitate a manatee.
Strand said officials hope to eventually transfer the manatee to Florida.

Source: Associated Press