NC family has rare encounter with manatee on Shallotte River
A family living on the Shallotte River in Brunswick County had an animal encounter that they never expected — they found a manatee in the river.
Experts say that manatees do travel in North Carolina, but seeing them is extremely rare. In a University of North Carolina at Wilmington study done from 1991 to 2012, there were only 211 manatee sightings in North Carolina and Virginia combined.
Cleve Cox said he went out on for a walk on the dock at his home late in the afternoon and saw a big swirl in the water.
"I leaned over the dock to try to see what it was, and I could see the image of a manatee coming up to the surface," he said.
The gentle sea mammal, native to the Florida Everglades, was right underneath Cox.
"When it came to the surface, it came right up to the edge of the dock, actually put its nose right on the edge of the dock, and looked up at me," Cox said.
Manatees can migrate up to North Carolina, temporarily, when the water is warm, according to Julie Smith, husbandry curator with the North Carolina Aquarium.
"I looked down at it and as you can imagine I was pretty surprised at what I was seeing," he said.
Together with his wife and dog, Cox set out on his boat into the river, where the animal came up to greet them again.
He said that the manatee came right up to the back of the boat, look at him, and then left.
"We didn’t want to bother it so we let it move on after that," Cox said. "It just seemed like it was really curious of what we were doing and wanted to come say hello."
Researchers say the manatee should head back down to Florida by the fall once the water gets cold.
"We love nature and we love animals, and so it’s a great experience to be able to be this close to a manatee," Cox said. "We’re certainly going to keep our eyes out and hope to see him again."
Experts say if you do encounter a manatee in these waters, don’t harass them. If you’re on a boat make sure to cut off your engine to avoid putting them in harm’s way.
