Manatees have recently been spotted in the Charleston area. Our friend Justin Walling spotted one twice in the middle of Charleston Harbor on Saturday while waiting for a sailboat race to start.
When you’re on the ferry or at the island’s docks, watch the water for these large and docile creatures.
In the past, Captain Rick Morse and Jimmy Small’s wife Ashley Ulrich have seen them in the Intracoastal waterway. Dennis Samuelson had one at his dock on the IOP last year around July 4.
If you see one, please call Reggie Fairchild at 843-259-1717. He’s never seen one and is dying to!
Here’s a link to the Department of Natural Resources Manatee sighting form.
The US Fish & Wildlife Service offers the following guidelines for interacting with manatees:
DO: Report sightings to your local wildlife officials or marine law enforcement office.
DO: Observe manatees from the surface of the water and at a distance.
DO: Avoid excessive noise and splashing that could disturb bottom-resting manatees. Manatees on the bottom are likely resting or feeding.
DO: Use snorkel gear if you are in the water, and maintain your distance when watching manatees.
DO: Operate boats at idle and slow speed in areas where manatees have been reported.
DO NOT: Feed manatees or give them water.
DO NOT: Ride, chase, poke or surround manatees.
DO NOT: Separate a mother and calf or an individual from a group.
Save the Manatee.org has the following information about Manatees’ habitat and range:
Manatees can be found in shallow, slow-moving rivers, estuaries, saltwater bays, canals, and coastal areas — particularly where seagrass beds or freshwater vegetation flourish. Manatees are a migratory species. Within the United States, they are concentrated in Florida in the winter. In summer months, they can be found as far west as Texas and as far north as Massachusetts, but summer sightings in Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina are more common. West Indian manatees can also be found in the coastal and inland waterways of Central America and along the northern coast of South America, although distribution in these areas may be discontinuous.
Lifespan, Mortality, Population: West Indian manatees have no natural enemies, and it is believed they can live 60 years or more. As with all wild animal populations, a certain percentage of manatee mortality is attributed to natural causes of death such as cold stress, gastrointestinal disease, pneumonia, and other diseases. A high number of additional fatalities are from human-related causes. Most human-related manatee fatalities occur from collisions with watercraft. Other causes of human-related manatee mortality include being crushed and/or drowned in canal locks and flood control structures; ingestion of fish hooks, litter, and monofilament line; and entanglement in crab trap lines. Ultimately, loss of habitat is the most serious threat facing the approximately 3,800 manatees in the United States today.