Mama, baby manatee rescued in Clearwater

CLEARWATER (FOX 13) - Clearwater police and the Clearwater Parks and Rec officials helped rescue a distressed manatee and its baby Friday afternoon.

Crews from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Florida Fish & Wildlife also came to Stevenson Creek, near Betty Lane and Overlea Street, to help save the pair.

The baby - said to be less than a year old - was first out of the water. Video posted online showed crews dousing it with water on the shore.

Next, crews used a front-end loader to lift the larger mother manatee out of the water.  The city said via Twitter that the loader was operated by Parks and Recreation worker Brian DeWitt, a former police officer. 

"It takes a village to move a large manatee," the city said in a tweet showing video of over a dozen people helping carry the mama manatee in a tarp sling.

It was not immediately clear what was wrong with the pair.  They'll both head to Lowry Park Zoo for examinations and, possibly, rehab.