Local authorities and animal rescue teams on Monday saved 19 manatees that had gotten stuck after swimming into a Florida town's storm drain, according to Fox News. The operation took rescuers hours, and they had to cut into the drain pipe to save the last of the giant marine mammals.

The manatees apparently entered the drain from the Indian River Lagoon in search of fresh, warm water. They have been known to congregate in Satellite Beach's canals when the water temperature drops, as it did in a recent cold snap that has driven temperatures down to dangerously low levels, the town's fire chief, Don Hughes, confirmed.

"It's been cold lately, and these canals are all filled with manatees," Hughes told Florida Today. "I wouldn't even begin to venture a guess as to how they got into the drainage pipes. They will go wherever there's warm water."

Some of the animals, which can measure up to 13 feet and weigh as much as 1,300 pounds, had scrapes and bruises after coming into contact with the drainage infrastructure. But there were no reports of any serious injuries.

The rescue operation began mid-afternoon on Monday when Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission biologist Ann Spellman was contacted by city workers searching for the endangered animals in the beach community 15 miles south of Cape Canaveral, Reuters reported.

Spellman said she had a "hunch" they might be hiding in the 100-150 feet long drain pipe after the employees had told her the manatees were trapped.

"These animals have gone several football fields up into the storm drain, and they continue to go up until they get stuck," Spellman later said.

A crowd of supportive onlookers cheered the rescue efforts. The operation, in which local police worked alongside experts from SeaWorld, was not complete until about 2 a.m., Satellite Beach Fire Department Captain Jay Dragon said.