US Coast Guard HC-130 crews were involved in two unusual water dweller rescues recently. A wayward manatee was captured by New Jersey Fish and Wildlife officers near Newark, New Jersey, and transported to Miami, Florida, by an HC-130J crew from CGAS Elizabeth City, North Carolina, on 29 October 2009. The manatee was taken to the Miami Seaquarium for rehabilitation before being released back into open water. On 28 January 2010, an HC-130H crew from CGAS Sacramento, California, flew two sick sea turtles from Newport, Oregon, to NAS North Island, near San Diego, where they were picked up by caretakers from Sea World. Now recovering, the turtles will be released back into the wild by midyear.
