Manatees in North Carolina 59 



Bern, at Lawson Park or the Sheraton Hotel Yacht Basin in 1994. The 

 1993 specimen was followed downstream in the Neuse along its 

 western shore for 13 km before vanishing. The July 1994 specimen 

 did not linger in the Trent River prior to its next (presumed) sight- 

 ing in the lower Neuse River opposite Oriental in late July. August- 

 September 1994 specimens lingered and fed on the lush vegetation of 

 the Trent River even as late as 24 September 1994. Bottom and surface 

 salinities 17 September 1994 were 14 and 7 ppt respectively. 



INLAND PENETRATIONS 



Manatees are known to penetrate inland freshwater such as the 

 St. John's River of Florida for 224 km to Lake Monroe (Volusia 

 County; D. Odell, Sea World Inc., personal communication). Farthest 

 inland river penetrations by manatees in North Carolina have been: 

 Cape Fear River (one) for 94.4 km-6.4 km above Route 210 and north 

 of Wilmington (Pender County) 11 July 1993, and one for 92 km in 

 the Neuse River to the Fort Barnwell Bridge (Craven County) in 

 October 1980, 33 km northeast of New Bern (Fig. 1). Two other 

 manatees occurred in the Tar River system of the upper Pamlico 

 River, a tributary of Pamlico Sound: one for 88 km to Greenville (Pitt 

 County) in November 1989 and the other for 58 km to just upstream 

 of Washington (Beaufort County) (Fig. 1) in September 1985. The 

 most peculiar movements have been of three manatees that traversed 

 south from the lower Chesapeake Bay in late summer of 1993 via the 

 canal and Intracoastal Waterway into Currituck Sound (Fig. 1). While 

 most manatee sightings have been at localities which could have been 

 reached via the Intracoastal Waterway and sounds, the four inlet and 

 six ocean occurrences also suggest travel north from Florida to North 

 Carolina may have been via those avenues. In any event, observations 

 seem to indicate many more young manatees are expanding their range 

 into North Carolina, perhaps as a result of an increased public aware- 

 ness of Florida's manatees rather than a real population increase. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS— Thanks are extended to the many 

 interested people of North Carolina who called or commented on 

 manatee occurrences in North Carolina. Others, elsewhere, who were 

 also helpful in supplying information were: C. Beck, National Bio- 

 logical Service, Sirenia Project, Gainesville, FL (occurrences, sizes, 

 and Rathbun et al. 1981 reference); D. Odell, Sea World Inc., Or- 

 lando, FL, (St. John's River occurrence, file data, and review of manu- 

 script; R. Dove, Neuse River Keeper (1994 Trent River observations); 

 J. Wolfenberger, (Minnesott Beach Yacht Basin observations); New 



