Anna Gurney
A manatee was successfully rescued from a Tar River canal in Greenville, Pitt County. It is the first documented case of a manatee being rescued in North Carolina.
The 855-pound, 9-foot female manatee was first reported to the Outer Banks Marine Mammal Stranding Network in late October, near Kitty Hawk, and was exhibiting concerning behavior.
“Manatees are regularly seen in N.C. waters during warmer months, though the numbers of sightings historically have been much lower than what we’ve seen in recent years,” said University of North Carolina Wilmington Assistant Stranding Coordinator Alison Loftis. “Manatees travel north to our waters from Florida during the warm months of the year. However, manatees cannot survive for extended periods in waters less than 68°F, so they must migrate back to Florida before our temperatures drop in the fall/winter. If they do not, they risk becoming cold stressed, an often-fatal condition similar to hypothermia in humans. In recent years, we have seen a significant increase in manatee sightings in North Carolina. Many factors likely contribute to this, but the main one is climate change. As global climate change continues to create warmer ocean temperatures, this is creating more suitable habitat areas for manatees along the Atlantic coast, causing them to venture farther away from Florida.”
Working in tandem with key North Carolina partners, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) quickly organized a multi-state, multi-agency marine mammal rescue team led by SeaWorld Orlando and included Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute, N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC), N.C. Aquariums, UNC-Wilmington Marine Mammal Stranding Program, N.C. State University’s Center for Marine Sciences and Technology and its College of Veterinary Medicine.
The team created a plan to monitor and rescue the animal and began assembling resources, including a manatee transport truck, multiple nets and a specialized manatee capture boat. However, they lost her location for 10 days as she moved farther inland. Sightings were later reported in the Pamlico River, near the Twin Lakes Campground in Chocowinity, on Nov. 10. She was identified as the same manatee as the one in Kitty Hawk through her scar pattern from a watercraft collision.
The manatee was then spotted on Nov. 15 in the Tar River, at the outfall of a Greenville Utilities Commission’s wastewater treatment plant. Law enforcement from Greenville Police Department and NCWRC assisted in monitoring the animal’s location while the rescue team traveled to the site.
Veterinarians’ initial examinations concluded the manatee was underweight with some skin lesions due to cold stress, and a recent watercraft propeller injury. She also had a bleached muzzle due to cold temperatures. She was transported to SeaWorld Orlando for rehabilitation and hopes of a future return to the wild.
SeaWorld reports the manatee is doing well and eating on her own.
In North Carolina, the public is asked to report an injured manatee by calling the 24-hour marine rescue hotline at 910-515-7354.
To report sightings of healthy manatees, please submit information, including photos and location of the animal to UNCW Marine Mammal Stranding Program.