Greenville – The first documented successful manatee rescue happened in North Carolina last week.
A 855-pound, 9-foot female manatee was successfully rescued from a Tar River canal in Pitt County, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission reported on Nov. 27.
The manatee was first reported to the Outer Banks Marine Mammal Stranding Network in late October near Kitty Hawk, showing concerting behavior.
Working with the key N.C. partners, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services quickly organized a multi-state, multi-agency marine mammal rescue team led by SeaWorld Orlando and included five other groups.
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.
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.
She was then spotted on Nov. 15 in the Tar River, at the outfall of a Greenville Utilities Commission’s wastewater treatment plant.
She was transported to SeaWorld Orlando for rehabilitation and hopes of a future return to the wild.
This is the first successful rescue of a manatee in the state. SeaWorld reports the manatee is doing well and eating on her own.