DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A mother and baby manatee have been trapped behind an underwater wall in a Florida river for the past week after seeking shelter there from Hurricane Dorian.
State wildlife officials have been working to free the manatees trapped in the Halifax River in Daytona Beach.
Wildlife officials say the manatees likely swam into the area when storm surge and high tides raised the water level, and became stuck when the water receded.
Daytona Beach spokeswoman Susan Cerbone says engineers have been studying whether it's possible to move part of the wall, built to catch sediment so it doesn't get in the river.
The Daytona Beach News Journalreports that the support piles in the metal wall are driven more than 26 feet below the riverbed's surface.
Our marine mammal rescue team is working with @CityDaytona on a solution to free a manatee and her calf that are trapped behind a retention wall due to storm surge during Hurricane #Dorian: https://t.co/lQVcD6YwEW pic.twitter.com/yonbWdJ1II
— MyFWC (@MyFWC) September 11, 2019