Biologists, along with partners and the public, have been responding to reports of stranded manatees in Florida after Hurricane Helene struck Florida. The Category 4 hurricane brought record storm surge and flooded many lakes and rivers, where manatees live.

Even in their typical habitats, manatees become stranded when water levels recede to irregularly low levels, Save the Manatee Club says.

When Hurricane Helene tore through the southeast, it left a 500-mile path of devastation in its wake, from the Florida Gulf all the way to the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina. In Florida, the National Weather service reported that the storm surge climbed to 15 feet above ground level.