A large mola mola was pulled back into deeper water by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Police bodycam footage shot on Monday shows deputies helping to free a giant ocean sunfish that had become stuck in shallow water on the Atlantic shores of central Florida.
The sunfish was massive, preventing the deputies from easily dislodging it from the sandy shore in Volusia County where it was trapped.
The deputy wearing the police bodycam, Deputy Urquhart, can be seen pulling on the animal to see if that would be enough to release it from the shore.
“This thing’s heavy, bro,” Urquhart says to his fellow deputy.
A Mola Mola, also known as an ocean sunfish, was safely freed from the Florida coastline.
(Volusia County Sheriff’s Office / FOX Weather)
“Heya, bud. I’m trying to help you out there,” he gently says to the sunfish.
Urquhart and his fellow deputies ultimately had to tie a rope around the sunfish to help free it.
Also known as mola mola, sunfish are the largest bony fish in the ocean, according to NOAA. Some of the largest specimens can grow to be 5,000 pounds, which is heavier than most SUVs.
Sunfish are named for their tendency to lie flat just below the surface of the ocean to be warmed by the Sun.