Rescuers Freed a Group of at Least 17 Manatees Stuck in a Mass Stranding in a Storm Drain

Satellite Beach, Florida - Rescuers freed a group of at least 17 manatees stuck in a mass stranding in a storm drain in Satellite Beach, Florida.

Crews from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, the Satellite Beach Fire Department and Police Department and city utilities worked to access into the culverts where the marine mammals were trapped, so a five-member team from SeaWorld could lift them out and release them back into the water, officials said.

With rain in the forecast, there was concern that the animals stuck in the drain could drown if the culvert were to fill with water.

Manatees, which are very curious, occasionally swim into storm drains, but because the culvert gradually narrows, some larger animals can get wedged and stuck, according to Ann Spellman, a marine biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission.

Even if only one gets physically wedged in the pipe, any others following it can't get out, because they cannot swim backwards and don't have room to turn around.

After the mass stranding was discovered Monday, the city installed grates on the mouth of the culverts in the area to prevent any other manatees from swimming in.

Shedd Aquarium's New Otter Pup Is The Sweetest Thing Ever

The Shedd Aquarium welcome their newest resident : an orphaned southern sea otter pup. Watch as she arrives at Shedd and gets to know her new family! Isn’t this the cutest thing you’ve seen all day?

Sea Otter Plays Basketball to Help Alleviate Arthritis Pain

Eddie is a bit late for the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, since it was just contested this last weekend, but he can dunk with the best of them. Nothing fancy like jumping over a car or ball boy, though. After all, Eddie is a sea otter. And the great thing about Eddie's dunking is that he doesn't do it for show. No, he dunks off stage at the Oregon Zoo to improve his health.

Eddie is 15 years old, geriatric for the species, and suffers from arthritis in the elbows. Veterinarians prescribed regular exercise, and the zookeepers came up with dunking a basketball as the perfect elixir. Eddie caught on quickly.

"He's definitely got game," the zoo's Jenny DeGroot told KPTV. "Sea otters have incredible dexterity, so it makes sense Eddie would have this hidden talent. They're famous for using rocks as tools to crack open clams."

Unfortunately, Eddie's dunking takes place behind the scenes at the zoo, so visitors can't see the Blake Griffin or Terrence Ross of the otter world. But perhaps the zoo will allow Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts a visit to see Eddie dunk; surely he'd be interested.