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A manatee bobbing in the waters near Marco Island is poked and prodded by the noses of several larger manatees, an apparent attempt to bring their ailing relative up for air. That’s the report received by Mitts Maravic of the Fish and Wildlife Commission over the Fourth of July weekend.

A Marco Island man reported that a dying or dead manatee was located off Isles of Capri near channel marker 16.

As for the peer rescue attempt – “that’s something they try to do,” Maravic said.

He added that it is very common and touching to see the animals trying to help and then often mourning the loss of one of their own.

“We had a porpoise doing the same thing over the weekend. The body of a calf was decomposing and the mother was still trying to push it up for air,” he said.

The porpoise was near Marco River and Isles of Capri.

“We won’t ever take that baby away until the mother is done dealing with it,” he added.

The deceased manatee was brought to a Charlotte County pathology lab for an autopsy, officially called a necropsy or animal autopsy.

Maravic said the manatee’s cause of death was not evident by any exterior injury.

“There were small scars on its back, but that’s not unusual,” he said.

The necropsy will likely reveal the cause of death, which may be related to being struck by a boat or natural causes.

While Maravic said he is often the first responder when a boater or resident reports a hurt or deceased sea mammal in Collier County, the Marine Mammal Stranding Network (MMSN), a group of State and Federal volunteers trained in biology and sea rescues, often come in with expertise in marine biology and serve Collier, Lee and Charlotte Counties.

“We know when something is not quite right. They have the knowledge and expertise,” Maravic said about the MMSN.

It was a busy Fourth of July weekend for Maravic and rescuers. The Marine Mammal Stranded Network shifted their focus from the deceased manatee to a live manatee rescue.

MMSN saved a manatee Thursday afternoon that was found near Port of the Islands east of Seminole State Park. The manatee is receiving treatment at the Lowry Park Tampa Zoo, said FWC biologist Deidre Semeyn.

“This manatee is eight or nine-feet long. It takes a lot of us to operate the boat and rescue the manatee,” Semeyn said as she drove up to Tampa with the mammal.

The manatee ambulance is a large box truck with temperature control, foam pads and a tank to keep the animals wet while in route, she added.

Semeyn said the rescue efforts rely on the tips provided by citizens to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. To report an injured or deceased marine mammal such as a manatee call the FWCC at 888-404-3922.