Mysterious traveling buoy in Florida river raises concerns. What is it attached to?

A buoy seen mysteriously moving back and forth in Florida’s Kissimmee River is raising concerns that it may be attached to something alive and dangerous in the water.

An investigation has revealed that assumption is partially true: It is attached to something alive, the Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office says.

“We have received reports about a gator in the Kissimmee River with a hunting buoy attached to it,” the sheriff’s office wrote in a Feb. 28 Facebook post.

“If you frequent the Okee-Tantie area, you may have seen it moving back and forth near the floating water lettuce. Well it’s no gator!”

So what is it?

A harmless sea cow, better known as a manatee, the department says.

The buoy was purposely attached to the marine mammal after it suffered “a near death prop strike and was nursed back to health by the animal care team at SeaWorld Olando,” state officials said.

“It was released northwest of Okeechobee, traveled through the Kissimmee Lake Chain, and flowed down the river into our lake (Lake Okeechobee),” the sheriff’s office said.

“The buoy serves both as a warning for boaters and a tracker for wildlife officials to monitor manatee movements. The anchor holding it in place degrades over time and the buoy system ‘pops’ off to be recovered later.”

Researchers say the manatee is a large female who may be more than 15 years old.

Her injury was a deep gash to the shoulder, and it was “extensively treated,” officials say. She was released on Jan. 18.

It is common for manatees to make themselves at home in both fresh water and salt water, so an appearance in Lake Okeechobee is not surprising, FWC officials say told McClatchy News.

The buoy is designed to easily pop off should the manatee become entangled. It does not inhibit her ability to eat, mate or give birth, officials said.

Dozens of similar animal tags are being tracked across the state, including tags on orphaned manatee calves that need to be kept out of danger, FWC officials said.

Manatees feed on “seagrass, algae and other vegetation,” state officials say. They can reach 13 feet in length and 3,500 pounds, the commission says.

The Okee-Tantie area where the buoy has been seen is about 105 miles south of Orlando.

Sightings of tagged animals in the state can be reported to the FWC by calling 888-404-3922.

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