(FORTUNE Magazine) – The wet suit is a new weapon in the fight to save the endangered manatee. The so-called sea cow -- actually, a relative of the elephant -- in the photo below was injured by a motorboat in her native Florida waters, then rushed by truck to Anheuser-Busch's Sea World in Orlando. There curator of mammals Jack Pearson and his staff came up with the radical solution of outfitting the badly cut 1,300-pounder with a suit with special foam-rubber-filled pockets that helped keep her upright so she could breathe, eat properly, and, as it happened, give birth to a daughter a few days later. The wet suit, which also prevents hypothermia, required 80 square feet of rubber held together by Velcro straps. It was donated by Orlando's Fathom Dive Suits. - R.T.