It was too cold for a manatee Wednesday morning on Hilton Head. Watch rescuers step in
A manatee spotted at a marina on Hilton Head was rescued Wednesday morning after it showed signs of frostbite around its mouth, according to a harbormaster.
The manatee, a male, was plucked from the water by a SeaWorld Orlando team Wednesday around 10 a.m. at the Windmill Harbor Marina on Hilton Head, according to harbormaster Jake McMillan. The animal was first spotted Saturday outside of the harbor, McMillan said, and was seen again Sunday when it swam inside. Manatees are sometimes seen in the marina, but not usually this late in the season, he said.
“Tuesday we found it and it had signs of, I guess what you would call frostbite in humans,” McMillan said. “Its mouth was getting white. Luckily, the Fish and Wildlife people were very in touch with the SeaWorld rescue group.”
The rescue team boat worked quickly to encircle the manatee in a net, according to a video from the marina’s Facebook page. It took six rescue team members to heft the manatee on board.
“It all went way better than planned,” McMillan said. “We thought the manatee was all the way back in the back of the harbor, which is where it was last spotted. Then the Fish and Wildlife lady lost sight of it, and all of a sudden it was right where SeaWorld launched their boat, right beside them.”
The animal was loaded into a “manatee ambulance,” McMillan joked, that was backed up to the boat. Other than the white around its mouth and old propeller scars, the animal appeared to be in good condition, McMillan said.
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“Now it’s probably going the fastest its ever been, 70 mph down the interstate,” McMillan said. “They were taking it back to Florida to get inspected and make sure everything was OK. Then, hopefully, relocate it to its natural habitat as fast as they can.”
‘Hunker down’
Manatees prefer warmer waters, according to Erin Weeks with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources’ Marine Division. When water temperatures drop into the low 70s or high 60s, Weeks said, the animals get cues to migrate south, typically in October and November. Manatees can sometimes stop to find a warm patch of water to “hunker down in” instead of migrating to warmer waters, Weeks said.
“We’ve seen stragglers fairly recently in the past decade,” Weeks said.
Staying in cold waters can be very dangerous for the animals, which can contract “the manatee equivalent of hypothermia,” Weeks said.
It is illegal to hunt, feed, touch or play with the animals, which are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, according to SCDNR’s website. Doing so could result in an $11,000 fine or up to a year in jail.
Manatee sightings can be reported online at the SCDNR website. To report an injured manatee in the area, call the SCDNR wildlife hotline at 1-800-922-5431.
