Wyckoff Kids Help Rescue Gentle Giant

Most people just want to kick back and relax on their vacation. Any disturbance that may pop up while on vacation is usually just viewed as an annoyance. Not for the Thompson family and friends.

While on vacation in Captiva Island a 14 year-old Wyckoff resident named Nick spotted a manatee in distress. They knew it was in distress because it was surrounded by five or six other manatees who were trying to keep their struggling comrade upright.

After contacting the Florida Wildlife Conservation Center they were told the manatee’s struggles were most likely paralysis caused by red tide poisoning. This cause all of the muscles in the animals body to tense up, convulse and impossible for the animal to fully control itself.

Nick and Devin Thompson, a 12 year-old Wyckoff resident, were among those to jump into the water and assist the troubled manatee for over an hour.

“When I first saw what was happening I was just kind of scared for the manatee,” said Thompson. “I love the manatees and I didn’t want to watch it suffer so I just jumped in there when we realized we could help.”

According to National Geographic, manatees are usually between 8-13 feet and 440-1,300 lbs.

“I’ve been around a bunch of big turtles and dolphins in the ocean but this was really big. Bigger than anything I’ve ever been around,” added Thompson.

The manatee was lifted out of the water and escorted to Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo where it is going to be treated. The group named their new friend “Nicky Bubbles,” Nicky after Nick who first spotted the gentle giant and Bubbles because Devin Thompson had started referring to the mammal as such.

“The manatee made it to Tampa and they have been administering antibiotics. I don’t know exactly how she is doing right now but we are hoping for a report in the next couple of days,” said Carrie Soumas Thompson, Devin’s mother.