Here, There, and Everywhere:
Unusual Manatee Sightings Abound This Summer
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| Hello! An uncommon swimmer greets Assistant Park Manager Matt Bledsoe at Wekiwa Springs State Park in Apopka, Florida. (Photos courtesy Matt Bledsoe.) |
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Right before the Labor Day holiday, Assistant Park Manager Matt Bledsoe was making his rounds at Wekiwa Springs State Park in Apopka, Florida, when he discovered an unusual visitor. An endangered manatee was resting placidly in the swimming area. While Wekiwa Springs State Park is home to wading birds, otters, turtles and even alligators, manatees are not regular residents. In fact, this was the first time in the park’s history that a manatee had been sighted there.
“Our swimming area was closed due to the high water conditions after Tropical Storm Fay,” says Bledsoe. “I went to the spring to open it back up for swimming and had walked around to the second vent when someone in the water caught my eye. I looked down and couldn’t believe that a manatee was sticking its head under the limestone ledge looking into the vent. It then swam around the swimming area as though it was checking the place out.”
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| The Wekiwa manatee checks out the new digs. (Photo courtesy Matt Bledsoe.) |
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“Normally, water levels in the Wekiva River (spelled differently than the springs) would be too shallow to allow manatees access to the state park,” says Dr. Katie Tripp, Director of Science and Conservation for Save the Manatee Club. “However, Central Florida received record rainfall when Tropical Storm Fay moved through the state in August. The Wekiva River rose at least two feet, allowing this manatee and possibly others to travel into uncharted territory.”
The Wekiwa visit was not the only unusual sighting that was reported this summer.
In mid-August, a manatee was sighted near Point Judith, Rhode Island. And several people reported seeing a manatee in the New York area in late August, although none of the New York sightings could be confirmed. Unconfirmed sightings in Delaware, North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland have also been reported.
“Seeing a manatee in Rhode Island is unusual, but not unprecedented,” says Cathy Beck, Wildlife Biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey’s Sirenia Project, an agency that tracks manatees along the east coast of the United States. “In 1995, a manatee named Chessie was documented in Rhode Island. Prior to that time, the farthest north a manatee had been sighted was in the Potomac River. In 2006, another manatee set the current record by visiting Cape Cod, Massachusetts.”
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| A 1995 photo of Chessie at a stop in Ocean City, Maryland. (Photo by Jim Reid, USGS Sirenia Project.) |
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USGS manatee scientists believe that manatee migration from Florida to the Chesapeake Bay (where Chessie was first spotted) may have been common for manatees in previous centuries. But how about a recent sighting in the United Kingdom? In early August, there were news reports about a manatee sighting off the coast of Wales. Marine biologists there mentioned climate change or Gulf Stream currents as a possible explanation for a manatee visit, but Tripp is not convinced. “Manatees are a semi-tropical species and can’t tolerate prolonged exposure to water temperatures below 68 degrees F,” she said. “The maximum ocean temperatures in the area of the Wales sighting are 63 degrees F, which are pretty chilly for a manatee. We did follow up with the newspaper that ran the original story, and there haven’t been any additional sightings. There are also seals in the area, which could possibly be confused for a manatee.”
Back in Florida, the staff at Wekiwa Springs State Park closed off the swimming area to accommodate their unusual visitor. According to Bledsoe, the manatee spent about a week going back and forth between the swimming area and the river but hasn’t been seen since September 5th.
“As the flood waters from Tropical Storm Fay recede, the concern now is to make sure that manatees don’t get stranded before they have a chance to get back to their normal traveling routes,” says Tripp. “Florida residents and visitors should be on the lookout for manatees in unusual places. Any such sightings can be reported to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission by calling 1-888-404-FWCC (3922). Other manatee sightings can be reported to Save the Manatee Club at education@savethemanatee.org or by calling 1-800-432-JOIN (5646).”
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Could a seal be mistaken for a manatee? You decide.
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