Manatee noticed swimming in Waccamaw River close to Conway marina

CONWAY, SC (WMBF) – A manatee was noticed swimming within the Waccamaw River close to the Conway marina Thursday morning.

A video posted by Harlee Holtzclaw on Facebook confirmed the manatee swimming within the river by the Conway Outpost and Marina. The video has since gone viral.

Holtzclaw’s daughter noticed the manatee first and referred to as her mom over to look.

“My 10-year-old said, ‘Mom, it’s a manatee!’ And my mom said ‘no way!’ Then my mom said ‘no, Harlee, something big and round just went under that pier!’” Holtzclaw stated.

Holtzclaw stated she thought her daughter was seeing an alligator or another sea life. The manatee swam across the marina’s pier and boat ramp earlier than heading again out into deeper waters.

Holtzclaw reported the sighting to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

Manatees are noticed in South Carolina from late spring to fall as they migrate up from Florida. Last yr, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources acquired 289 manatee sightings, a rise from previous years.

“That doesn’t mean that there were, you know, 289 manatees; multiple reports can come in from the same animal,” stated Kelly Lambert, a wildlife biologist with SCDNR.

While being upstream is rare for manatees, extra have made their solution to the Waccamaw area by way of related waterways, in line with SCDNR.

“A lot of our reports will come in from the southern part of the state because they like to hang out at marinas, you know, down, you know, at Shelter Cove and Harbor Town and places like that in the Hilton Head area,” Lambert stated. “That being said, you know, manatees are still found in the northern part of the state.”

Lambert stated the Waccamaw River sighting is rarer however not completely unusual due to the realm’s interconnected rivers and waterways.

According to SCDNR, manatees are capable of stay in each contemporary and salt water and can cling round shallow areas like marinas to eat rising crops.

“So typically in our tidal creeks, they like to hang out in, also anywhere where there’s vegetation growing,” Lambert stated. “So, you know, they’re known as sea cows. They’re constantly, typically eating at high tide. And then more resting at low tide.”

Any manatee sightings ought to be reported to SCDNR immediately, offering data on the situation, time, and any video and pictures of the sighting.

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