Each year, Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) are spotted along the North Carolina coast from spring through fall, inhabiting the ocean, estuaries and rivers.
The North Carolina Aquarium Marine Mammal Stranding Team and other stranding partners across the state respond to multiple reports of manatee sightings per year, and less frequent, manatee strandings. The team is part of the North Carolina Aquariums, a division of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
Florida manatees are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act and as depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
They face a variety of threats, including natural causes such as cold stress and harmful algal bloom toxins, human-related impacts such as boat strikes. Fishing gear entanglement and habitat loss caused by nutrient runoff that degrades seagrass beds also negatively impact manatee.
As temperatures cool, North Carolina's winter waters become too cold for manatees to survive. Most migrate south to warmer waters, while individuals that remain risk developing cold stress syndrome.
Of the 17 dead manatee strandings that have been documented in North Carolina over the past 32 years, most have been attributed to cold stress. Wherever boats and manatees share the water, however, the risk of vessel strikes remains high.
Most manatees bear scars from propeller strikes. Please be on the lookout for manatees as they can be hard to see because they lack a dorsal fin.
If you spot a live manatee, call the appropriate hotline for your area and complete the University of North Carolina Wilmington manatee sighting form online (UNCW Manatee Sighting Form).
The network is divided into three coastal regions, which each have 24 – hour, seven day a week stranding hotline number.
For the Outer Banks, call 252-455-9654. For the central coast, call 252-241-5119. For the southern part of the state, call 910-254-5713.