http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14227633/
Manatee spotted off shores of New York City
Witnesses report at least three sightings of ?gigantic? marine mammal
AP Press
Updated: 9:36 a.m. CT Aug 7, 2006
NEW YORK - In the heat of summer, all sorts of tourists head north to cooler climes. This year, a manatee has joined the crowd, cruising past the nightclubs of Manhattan and continuing north.
The massive animal has been spotted in the Hudson River at least three times in the last week ? first off the Chelsea and Harlem sections of Manhattan, then to the north in Sleepy Hollow in Westchester County.
?It was gigantic,? said Randy Shull, who said he spotted the unusual visitor Sunday afternoon while boating at Kingsland Point Park in Sleepy Hollow. ?When we saw it surface, its back was just mammoth.?
Last month, trackers saw the manatee as it swam north, first near Delaware, then Maryland, then New Jersey. By Saturday, it was seen in Manhattan.
Kim Durham, rescue program director for the Riverhead Foundation, a nonprofit group devoted to marine mammals, called it a ?bona fide? sighting, but there isn?t photographic proof.
It is unusual for one of the creatures ? often associated with the warm waters of Florida ? to travel so far north, although they have been reported along the shores of Long Island and even Rhode Island.
Manatees are an endangered marine mammal. Florida wildlife experts counted 3,116 in their annual survey in February.
John Vargo, the publisher of Boating on the Hudson magazine, said his alert about the sightings was met with disbelief by some boaters.
?Some were laughing about it, because it couldn?t possibly be true,? he said.
?I?m 70 years old, and I?ve been on the river my entire life,? Vargo said. ?I?ve seen dolphins and everything else, but never a manatee.?
Replies
8
Admin
That's amazing. Please include link when you post articles, and quote, like this:
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060802/NEWS01/608020321/1006/NEWS
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060802/NEWS01/608020321/1006/NEWS
A manatee has been seen in the Hudson River near Manhattan.
The gentle behemeth, estimated at 10 feet long and close to 1,000 pounds, is far from home. Most manatees live in Florida and sightings even in Virginia are considered rare.
Watchers tracked this one last month as it swam north ? first near Delaware, then Maryland, then New Jersey. Saturday, it was seen at 23rd Street in Manhattan, then later at 125th Street in Harlem.
"On both occasions it was observed logging at the surface adjacent to the bulkhead and appeared to be heading farther north up the river," said Kim Durham, rescue program director for the Riverhead Foundation, a nonprofit group devoted to marine mammals.
SoWal InsiderAuthor
Oops, sorry! Meant to put link, which I usually do. Have added it.
SoWal Expert
Cracksmokers shouldn't be interviewed about marine life sightings.
SoWal Insider
Cracksmokers shouldn't be interviewed about marine life sightings.
:shock:
SoWal InsiderAuthor
;-) I'm sure Jdarg was referring to this comment by the guy mentioned below:
?It was gigantic,? said Randy Shull, who said he spotted the unusual visitor Sunday afternoon while boating at Kingsland Point Park in Sleepy Hollow. ?When we saw it surface, its back was just mammoth.?
?It was gigantic,? said Randy Shull, who said he spotted the unusual visitor Sunday afternoon while boating at Kingsland Point Park in Sleepy Hollow. ?When we saw it surface, its back was just mammoth.?
SoWal Expert
;-) I'm sure Jdarg was referring to this comment by the guy mentioned below:
?It was gigantic,? said Randy Shull, who said he spotted the unusual visitor Sunday afternoon while boating at Kingsland Point Park in Sleepy Hollow. ?When we saw it surface, its back was just mammoth.?
yup
SoWal Insider
;-) I'm sure Jdarg was referring to this comment by the guy mentioned below:
?It was gigantic,? said Randy Shull, who said he spotted the unusual visitor Sunday afternoon while boating at Kingsland Point Park in Sleepy Hollow. ?When we saw it surface, its back was just mammoth.?
Well......technically a manatee is in the elephant family, and elephants are of the same genus as mammoths, but not the same, But hey, I screwed up fauna and flora, and I wasn't even recovering from waterpark dementia. :funn:
I live in the Hudson Valley, and actually know people at this Boat basin. Small world. The manatee was probably sightseeing as it is a beautiful River
, but I hope they find it and watch it carefully as there are many freight boats and the river itself has many toxins.SoWal InsiderAuthor
:scratch: I've seen the term crackhead used alot on here lately! But I too saw something when waiting to go out on a waverunner tour down at PC Beach. This was either dark gray or black, had no fins, but alot of white speckled places all over it, was going up and down through the water but very slow. I think it was possibly a young whale but don't know for sure. This was slender if it was a whale but a young one would be I guess. Unless manatees have speckled white on them. I saw it but am not sure the guide did, but I think he did, I tried to get my husband to look and by the time he looked it was gone. That was back in 2003.
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