Pictured: West Indian Manatee (Credit: Old Santee Canal Park)
BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. – A visitor to Old Santee Canal Park spotted a West Indian Manatee swimming near the park’s floating dock Saturday.
“These gentle giants are an annual, but uncommon, visitor this far up the Cooper River in the summer. Please be extra careful when boating in the Cooper River/Tailrace Canal!” the park posted to its official Facebook page.
Video of the manatee sighting at the park can be viewed below:
While manatee sightings in Berkeley County don’t happen often, there have been others.
Last month, a woman was fishing with her granddaughter on the Tailrace Canal in Moncks Corner when they spotted nearly a dozen swimming close to their boat.
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Manatees typically arrive in South Carolina in May and leave by November when water temperatures drop below 68 degrees Fahrenheit, SCDNR officials said.
Because of the difficulty of counting them in murky waters, SCDNR officials say South Carolina’s manatee population is currently unknown – but it’s a small fraction of the United States’ estimated 6,600 animals, most of which live in Florida.
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