Beached Manatees Rescued From Low Tide In Wake of Hurricane Irma

Samantha Tomaszewski

A group of Florida residents came across two beached manatees Sunday afternoon in a bay that had dried up as a result of Hurricane Irma.

The manatees were stuck in the mud about 100 yards from deeper water, near Whitfield Avenue and U.S. Route 41 in Manatee County, Florida, the Bradenton Herald reported.

“We had to do something about it,” local resident Tony Faradini-Campos told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. “We couldn’t just let those manatees die out there. We shared the pictures on social media and it just blew up.”

The individuals who found the manatees originally tried to move them themselves, but were not successful and had to bring in further assistance.

“We actually reached out to some friends who work for the county that ended up going out there and rescuing them,” Michael Sechler, one of the passersby who discovered the manatees, told HuffPost.

Two Manatee County deputies and officials from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission came to the bay to help the rescue effort, the Herald-Tribune reported.

Marcelo Clavijo was also part of the group of people who helped save the manatees.

“We rolled each one on to a tarp and pulled them back into the channel and both swam off,” he told HuffPost.

Clavijo’s post has gotten more than 30,000 shares and received an outpouring of praise for the rescue mission.

Here’s hoping the rest of Florida’s animal population is able to weather the storm.

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A truck was blown over as Hurricane Irma passed through the Florida Keys.
A truck was blown over as Hurricane Irma passed through the Florida Keys.
A man died when his pickup truck crashed into a tree in the Florida Keys.
A man died when his pickup truck crashed into a tree in the Florida Keys.
High winds split a large tree in Coral Beach.
High winds split a large tree in Coral Beach.
MIAMI, FL - SEPTEMBER 10: People walk past a building where the roof was blown off by Hurricane Irma on September 10, 2017 in Miami, Florida. Hurricane Irma, which first made landfall in the Florida Keys as a Category 4 storm on Sunday, has weakened to a Category 2 as it moves up the coast. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - SEPTEMBER 10: People walk past a building where the roof was blown off by Hurricane Irma on September 10, 2017 in Miami, Florida. Hurricane Irma, which first made landfall in the Florida Keys as a Category 4 storm on Sunday, has weakened to a Category 2 as it moves up the coast. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Boats at a marina in Coconut Grove
Boats at a marina in Coconut Grove
Flooding in the Brickell neighborhood as Hurricane Irma passes Miami, Florida, U.S. September 10, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Yang
Flooding in the Brickell neighborhood as Hurricane Irma passes Miami, Florida, U.S. September 10, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Yang
A street sign is knocked over by high winds in Coral Beach.
A street sign is knocked over by high winds in Coral Beach.
Flooding in the Brickell neighborhood as Hurricane Irma passes Miami, Florida, U.S. September 10, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Yang
Flooding in the Brickell neighborhood as Hurricane Irma passes Miami, Florida, U.S. September 10, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Yang
Boats at a marina in Coconut Grove.
Boats at a marina in Coconut Grove.
A vehicle drives along a flooded street in downtown Miami.
A vehicle drives along a flooded street in downtown Miami.
Flooding begins in the Brickell neighborhood as Hurricane Irma passes Miami, Florida, U.S. September 10, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Yang
Flooding begins in the Brickell neighborhood as Hurricane Irma passes Miami, Florida, U.S. September 10, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Yang
A collapsed construction crane downtown Miami.
A collapsed construction crane downtown Miami.
Palm trees blow in the winds in Bonita Springs.
Palm trees blow in the winds in Bonita Springs.
Broken tree branches block roads in Coral Beach.
Broken tree branches block roads in Coral Beach.
East Oakland Park Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale.
East Oakland Park Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.