Havre de Grace police are used to fielding calls when strange things are found floating down the river or in the bay.
On Saturday, those calls poured in to the police department in droves as residents of the waterside city reported seeing a strange creature paddling in the waters where the mouth of the Susquehanna River meets the top of the Chesapeake Bay.
This wasn’t a dusky shark, like the one once caught by a fisherman off the Promenade, or an Atlantic sturgeon, like the 8-foot long specimen that once washed up on the shore at Rock Run, or even Chessie, the mythic, serpentine Chesapeake Bay sea monster.
It was a manatee, also known as a sea cow, evidently on tour from Florida and drawn by curiousity and warming water into the upper reaches of the Chesapeake Bay.
A Havre de Grace police officer was able to take photos and video of the manatee as it surfaced and meandered around a local marina. Marine mammal rescue experts from the National Aquarium at Baltimore were quickly called upon to survey the situation and recommend remediation.
Every few years a manatee makes its way up the coast from Florida, occassionally popping up in a local waterway before moving on to waters as far north as New York City and Cape Cod.
Boaters should generally take caution and keep an eye out for large floating mammals in local waters – be they manatee or man.
Here’s some more information about the National Aquarium in Baltimore’s Marine Animal Rescue Program:
The Aquarium is a regional and international leader in the quest to improve the health of the world’s oceans. We participate in a variety of cooperative programs, and have initiated many programs of our own to help preserve the health of our oceans.
The Marine Animal Rescue Program (MARP) is the cornerstone of the Aquarium’s ocean health initiative. MARP rescues, rehabilitates, and releases marine animals.
MARP has successfully rescued, treated, and returned seals, dolphins, porpoises, pilot whales, pygmy sperm whales, sea turtles, and a manatee to their natural habitats—led by only a handful of paid staff and a network of well-trained volunteers.
After his debut last week, Ilya the Floridian manatee seems to have taken a liking to the Susquehanna River and has recently made appearances on the shores of both Cecil and Harford County.
A Perryville Town Commissioner snapped photos of the wayward sea cow last Wednesday and a group of Havre de Gracians greeted the manatee with cameras and open arms Sunday afternoon when it surfaced near some condominiums.
Officials from the National Aquarium in Baltimore continue to monitor the manatee’s movements and urge people to take precautions to keep themselves and Ilya safe.
The National Aquarium has confirmed another sighting of manatee “Ilya”, reported yesterday in Perryville by Town Commissioner Gary Tennis. The animals appears to be moving freely between the top of the Bay and the Susquehanna River.
The Aquarium and the Coast Guard will continue to keep tabs on the animal to ensure its safety and monitor its movements. The Aquarium reminds local boaters and others at play around the Bay to be aware that the animal is still in the vicinity, and to use common sense practices to keep themselves and the manatee safe. Sightings should be reported to the Maryland Natural Resources Police Stranding Hotline: 1-800-628-9944.
Photos courtesy of Chris Brzys, John Cole, Gary Tennis and the Havre de Grace Police Department.
This story originally appeared in The Dagger.
