Source: WBTV
The first documented manatee rescue in North Carolina history took place in Greenville in mid-November, according to the N.C. Wildlife Resource Commission. Multiple agencies and organizations saved a distressed manatee from the Tar River on Nov. 15, WBTV reported.
The nine-foot-long, 855-pound female manatee was reported to the Outer Banks Marine Mammal Stranding Network in late October after it was spotted near Kitty Hawk showing “concerning behavior.”
Working with in-state partners, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service organized a multi-state, multi-agency rescue team to create a plan to monitor and save the manatee.
The manatee’s location was lost for 10 days as the agencies gathered the resources to perform the rescue. On Nov. 10, officials said sightings were reported in a section of the Pamlico River in Chocowinty. Using a scar pattern, rescuers determined this was the same manatee spotted near Kitty Hawk.
On Nov. 15, the manatee was again spotted, this time in the Tar River near the outfall of a Greenville Utilities Commission wastewater treatment plant, according to WBTV. As the rescue team traveled to Greenville, police officers and wildlife officials kept track of the mammal. After rescuers arrived, a large team was able to pull the manatee from a shallow ditch using specialized nets and load her into a transport truck to be taken to SeaWorld Orlando for rehabilitation before returning her to the wild. Officials said she is currently doing well.
“The success of this rescue is due to the quick response and dedication of staff, time, and resources by so many organizations over the last few weeks to help monitor this manatee,” said Fish and Wildlife Service’s Florida Manatee Recovery Lead Terri Calleson, who helped organize the overall operation. “I could not be prouder of this rescue team.”
Veterinarians’ initial exams revealed the manatee was underweight with skin lesions due to cold stress and a recent propeller injury.
The Fish and Wildlife Service said this manatee rescue was the state’s first since they began keeping records in the 1970s. In 2021, a manatee was found by beachgoers in Kill Devil Hills but it died before being rescued, officials said.
The public can report manatee sightings by clicking here.
