--- title: Manatees Rescued from Florida Storm Drain Pipe after getting stuck description: 19 manatees were rescued alive Monday night because they got stuck in a drainage pipe in Satellite Beach Florida, canonical: https://time.com/3720297/manatees-stuck-in-drain-pipe-florida/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-24T15:55:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:47:59.355Z og:title: 19 Manatees Got Stuck in a Drain Pipe in Florida og:description: 19 manatees were rescued alive Monday night because they got stuck in a drainage pipe in Satellite Beach Florida, og:url: https://time.com/3720297/manatees-stuck-in-drain-pipe-florida/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8d25c714bc73c2f4/698780b6428a9e76d5cc74d5/manatees-florida-rescue.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: manatees-florida-rescue og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 19 Manatees Got Stuck in a Drain Pipe in Florida twitter:description: 19 manatees were rescued alive Monday night because they got stuck in a drainage pipe in Satellite Beach Florida, twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8d25c714bc73c2f4/698780b6428a9e76d5cc74d5/manatees-florida-rescue.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 19 Manatees Rescued After Getting Stuck in a Drain Pipe  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Feb 24, 2015 3:55 PM UTC  Malcolm Denemark/Florida Today—AP  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Feb 24, 2015 3:55 PM UTC Nineteen manatees had to be rescued Monday night because they got stuck in a drain pipe in Satellite Beach, Fla., the Associated Press reports. A rescue team of police and firefighters worked with experts from Sea World and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to free the the marine mammals, who were all returned to the Indian River Lagoon System, Captain Jay Dragon of the Satellite Beach Fire Department said early Tuesday morning. Here is footage of the rescue: So far, [it is thought that a recent cold snap](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/02/24/manatees-rescued-storm-drain/23924935/) in central Florida may have prompted the manatees to swim in search of warmer water and follow one another into the storm drain, [_Florida Today_ reports.](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/02/24/manatees-rescued-storm-drain/23924935/) _Read next:_ [_This Puppy’s Devotion to a Broom Will Sweep You Off Your Feet_](http://time.com/3718826/puppy-broom-dog-door/?xid=time%5Freadnext) ### Photos: Inside a Hospital for California's Stranded Seals and Sea Lions  A California sea lion sits on the edge of a pool at the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County, Calif. on May 9, 2014. Corey Arnold for TIME  California sea lions swim and sit out in the sun while visitors look on at the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County, Calif. on May 9, 2014. Corey Arnold for TIME  Harbor seal pups wear plastic identification tags that help caregivers tell them apart at the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County, Calif. on May 9, 2014. Corey Arnold for TIME  Herring breakfasts are organized and labeled for each seal and sea lion at the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County, Calif. on May 9, 2014. Corey Arnold for TIME  A harbor seal pup wears a plastic "hat tag," used to identify individual animals at the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County, Calif. on May 9, 2014. Corey Arnold for TIME  A malnourished elephant seal pup looks outside a pen at the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County, Calif. on May 9, 2014. Corey Arnold for TIME  Volunteers tube-feed a malnourished harbor seal pup at the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County, Calif. on May 9, 2014. Corey Arnold for TIME  A volunteer restrains an elephant seal pup while the animal is fed through a tube at the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County, Calif. on May 9, 2014. Corey Arnold for TIME  A shaved patch on the back of a harbor seal shows where blood was drawn during an admit exam at the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County, Calif. on May 9, 2014. Corey Arnold for TIME  Seals and sea lions released back into their natural habitat are added to annual graduation posters at the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County, Calif., May 9, 2014. Corey Arnold for TIME  Researchers perform a necropsy on a California sea lion that died of malnutrition at the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County, Calif. on May 9, 2014. Corey Arnold for TIME  Dr. Shawn Johnson, Director of Veterinary Science, listens to the lungs of a young sea lion under anesthesia at the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County, Calif. on May 9, 2014. Corey Arnold for TIME  A California sea lion pup undergoes surgery for a lymph node abscess at the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County, Calif. on May 9, 2014. Corey Arnold for TIME  Students on a field trip learn what to do if they find a stranded seal on the beach at the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County, Calif. on May 9, 2014. Corey Arnold for TIME  Siobhan Rickert, 18, has been a volunteer at the Marine Mammal Center for four years She is one of a dedicated network of 1,100 volunteers who help run the facility in Marin County, Calif., May 9, 2014. Corey Arnold for TIME  An elephant seal pup lies in an enclosure at the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County, Calif. on May 9, 2014. Corey Arnold for TIME  The Marine Mammal Center sits where the U.S. military once had a missile site outside San Francisco, in the Marin Headlands, Calif., May 9, 2014. Corey Arnold for TIME [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3720297/manatees-stuck-in-drain-pipe-florida/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3720297/manatees-stuck-in-drain-pipe-florida/"},"headline":"19 Manatees Rescued After Getting Stuck in a Drain Pipe","datePublished":"2015-02-24T15:55:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:47:59.355Z","description":"They may have been in search of warmer water","url":"https://time.com/3720297/manatees-stuck-in-drain-pipe-florida/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8d25c714bc73c2f4/698780b6428a9e76d5cc74d5/manatees-florida-rescue.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. 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