Baby Manatee Rescued in St. Petersburg

A 90-pound manatee calf has been rescued from the waters off Bayboro Harbor in St. Petersburg. The calf is being bottlefed and listed in critical condition at the Lowry Park Zoo, suffering from the effects of cold stress. (See photo that ABC Action News tweeted Wednesday.)

Wildlife experts are saying that the baby manatee would have likely died if it had not been noticed by a wildlife expert working in the area Wednesday, March 27, according to media reports.

Fox News interviewed Fish and Wildlife staff member Jennifer Johnson:

"We noticed right off the bat that there was a really small calf looking like it might be by itself, so after about five minutes of watching it with no mom around, I called the rescue team at the Marine Mammal Pathobiology Laboratory," Jennifer Johnson recalled.

According to WPTV, cold stress causes respiratory stress and lesions on the bodies of manatees. The calf was put in a heated pool and will be fed by bottle. Rescuers were unable to catch the baby's mother.

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