Sep 24, 2008 6:37 pm US/Eastern
Manatees Seen Around Eastern Baltimore County
ESSEX, Md. (WJZ) ―
An unusual visitor has glided into Eastern Baltimore County.
As Mike Schuh reports, an animal more associated with the warm waters of Florida has been seen floating near Essex.
In 1994, a manatee named Chessie was seen living near Queenstown on the Eastern Shore. At that time, the aquarium picked him up and put a radio transmitter on him before he was released.
Gail Hill loves the wildlife outside her Essex waterfront home along the tranquil waters of Norman Creek. She feeds some of the wildlife and ducks that come her way, and she also enjoys taking pictures of her visitors. Gail looked out over the creek Tuesday night and there she saw something she had never seen before.
"It looked like a big barrel," says Hill. "It came up, I saw its head. Then another came up next to it. There was two of them and then they went under."
Gail ran for her camera, and with a photograph of the creature with what looks to be a barnacle on its back, Gail has proof that what she saw was indeed a manatee.
"It looked like a walrus with whiskers," Hill said.
The aquarium and the DNR have been notified and they both say that it is entirely possible that a manatee has come this far north. Gail says the manatees were around for half an hour and then they headed toward the end of the pier.
Gail is concerned about a boat hitting them, so if you see something that looks like a manatee, stay away. Call the aquarium because they would like to get a firsthand look, too.
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