JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
A manatee was released back into the wild this week in central Florida. He had been rescued from a storm drain in February. Molly Duerig with member station Central Florida Public Media watched him return to the river.
MOLLY DUERIG, BYLINE: Melby the manatee splashed back into the wild to clapping and cheering from a big crowd on the banks of the Eau Gallie River.
(CHEERING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Go, Melby.
(APPLAUSE)
DUERIG: Utility surveyors found Melby in a storm drain in Melbourne Beach this winter. Getting him out of there safely was a team effort. Brevard County Fire Rescue's Fergus Kelly says they literally tore up the road to lift the manatee out of the drain.
FERGUS KELLY: You know, with the lid on that storm drain, where Melby was is very tight, so very dangerous for us to put rescuers down in there in that confined space. So by excavating the road and taking the lid off the storm drain, it just made everything safer for the rescue in general.
DUERIG: Once out of the drain, the teenage manatee recovered at SeaWorld Orlando. Veterinarian Lydia Staggs took care of him.
LYDIA STAGGS: Melby is great. When he first came in, he was emaciated. He had some wounds. We got him fixed up. We got the wounds treated. We got him fattened up. We did a very good job of that.
DUERIG: Melby gained 105 pounds during his recovery. He also became famous. Kids sent him get well cards, and someone wrote a children's book about him. Melby got lucky. Blake Fawcett is with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
BLAKE FAWCETT: It is pretty uncommon. We don't get a lot of calls like that. But manatees are curious creatures, and they do like to explore.
DUERIG: Wildlife officials say manatees seek out warmer waters in winter, swimming inland to Florida's freshwater springs and sometimes stormwater outfalls. That may be why Melby found himself stuck in the storm drain. This winter was especially cold in central Florida. Data show at least 39 manatees have died across the state due to cold stress so far this year. That's more than twice the five-year average of 15 cold stress deaths for the same time period.
(SOUNDBITE OF WATER SPLASHING)
DUERIG: But for people at this week's celebration, Melby's release was a sign of hope.
(LAUGHTER)
DUERIG: The crowd watched as Melby got used to the water and munched on aquatic vegetation growing on the rocks. He has a microchip, so Florida wildlife staff will be able to identify him in the future, just in case he ever gets stuck again. For NPR News, I'm Molly Duerig in Melbourne, Florida.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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