Manatee rescued from muddy, shallow water in St. Augustine

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (FOX 13) - Rescuers were able to free a manatee that had gotten itself stuck in mud in St. Augustine on Wednesday.

St. Augustine police found the stranded female manatee upside down in muddy, shallow water before 4 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.

Officers poured water on the manatee until a biologist from the Jacksonville Zoo could arrive on scene.

The St. Augustine Fire Department, Florida Fish and Wildlife and workers with the Jacksonville Zoo joined forces to rescue the manatee, which weighed around 1,000 pounds.

Together, officials managed to get the animal onto a stretcher and carried her across an oyster bed to release her into the open waters.

"What a sight to see, when she excitedly leaped off the stretcher," police wrote.

Once freed, the manatee was able to swim away on her own.