Wildlife: Manatees rescued near Texas City Dike headed to San Antonio for care

The large mammal was discovered in an industrial canal near oil refineries.

On Friday, several organizations came together to rescue the manatee after a sighting was reported a few days ago. That’s when teams started trying to track it down.

It turned out that fishermen spotted a manatee near the Texas City levee in September, but it’s not clear if it was a breeding stock.

It took the organizations about an hour to get the mammal inside safely with a net.

Although people occasionally see manatees, they are rarely seen around here at this time of year.

“Manatees aren’t common here in Galveston Bay. But we do see them coming in occasionally in the summer months,” says Heidi Whitehead, with the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network.

The manatee was brought to Sea World in San Antonio for evaluation.

Man visiting Texas City Dike captures rare sight of manatees

Manatees discovered in Galveston Bay north of Texas City Dike

Cute animal video alert! Otters spotted playing in Houston’s Buffalo Bayou