Manatee in Memphis ---restricted private boat traffic
 

Here we go again :rolleyes:


MEMPHIS, Tennessee (AP) -- An adventurous manatee strayed far from its usual coastal habitat to make an appearance on a Mississippi River tributary near downtown Memphis on Monday.

The distance on the curvy river from near its delta in Louisiana to Memphis is more than 725 miles, according to Army Corps of Engineers charts.

"I got a call about 3 p.m. about either a hippo or a manatee in the water," said Andy Tweed, an officer with the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency. Officers from the agency and zoologists from the Memphis Zoo confirmed the sighting and observed the animal from boats.

The endangered species generally prefers warm coastal waters ranging from Alabama to South Carolina, although there were sightings this August along the East Coast up to Rhode Island.

In winter months, they usually stay in coastal waters off Florida, often congregating near the warm-water discharges of power plants.

"If he did swim from Florida, he's doing really well," Tweed said, estimating its size between eight and 10 feet, and its weight up to 1,000 pounds.

Tennessee officials were working with experts in Florida to decide what to do next. The agency planned to track the animal again Tuesday morning by helicopter and restrict private boat traffic in the harbor of the Wolf River, a tributary that meets the Mississippi just north of downtown Memphis.

Re: Manatee in Memphis ---restricted private boat traffic
 

Welcome to our nightmare! :( Good luck, he or she should be headed south, UNLESS it finds a warm water discharge to hang out for the winter! :evilb:
Dean

Re: Manatee in Memphis ---restricted private boat traffic
 

Sheeeeit, those rednecks are gonna turn him into jerky before he can go anywhere Dean. I believe Tennessee can handle this the right way. :rolleyes:

Re: Manatee in Memphis ---restricted private boat traffic
 

Sounds to me this is more like "infestation by a non-native species". They should treat the manatee as if it was a snakehead.

Re: Manatee in Memphis ---restricted private boat traffic
 

or at least dog food :drink:

Re: Manatee in Memphis ---restricted private boat traffic
 

My dog prefers the lamb and rice mix better, we tried Manatee, she didn't like it and it gave her gas.

Re: Manatee in Memphis ---restricted private boat traffic
 

Dean Ferry said the same thing :rolleyes: :drink:

Re: Manatee in Memphis ---restricted private boat traffic
 

Give us some time, we are still trying to find out if it would fall under bow or rifle season. We were doing pretty good until Sea World showed up.




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The rescue of the Memphis manatee is now a race against time.

A team of rescuers, from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife and Sea World Orlando, immediately hit the cold, dark waters of Harbor Landing upon arrival Wednesday night.

Their first order of business: to check on the manatee's well-being.

Bill Hughes with Sea World of Orlando says, "It's cold for the animal, currently, right now. The water temperature seems to be a little bit cold. They can survive for a short amount of time, so we're very hopeful."

The rescue team could not see the animal through the dark, rainy mist.

But they say they have never seen this kind of behavior from a manatee.

Nicole Adimey with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says, "Usually, typical behavior, they come back to Florida, they come back to the warmer waters in the winter time. So this is really unusual."

Sea World is asking spectators to help make the Thursday morning rescue a success by steering clear of the area.

Hughes continues, "We need to be doing nothing but concentrating on the animal and what it's doing and making sure we can safely collect the animal."

The plan is to net and haul the eight-foot long manatee onto a rescue boat.

Hughes continues, "We'll bring it over to the dock here. We'll take it up to the top of the dock . We'll transfer it into our van and at that point we'll leave and head back to Orlando."

Once the manatee arrives in Florida, they'll see how it's doing, rehabilitate if necessary and then release it back into the wild.