GREENVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- A manatee rescued in Pitt County last fall was freed Friday back into the ocean.
Nicknamed Pamlico, the nine-foot manatee was rescued on Nov. 18, 2024, from a Tar River canal in Greenville. She suffered from cold stress and skin injuries after getting hit by a boat. She was then taken to SeaWorld Orlando's manatee critical care facility for treatment, according to a news release.
Pamlico was released at Tampa's Big Bend Power Station in Apollo Beach in Florida, a popular 'warm-up station' for manatees in the winter. She was medically cleared by SeaWorld Orlando and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).
"This was an impressive team effort with organizations from North Carolina to Florida coming together to successfully rescue, transport, rehabilitate and release this manatee," FWS's Florida Manatee Recovery Lead Terri Calleson said in a news release. "We greatly appreciate the reports from the public as well as the heroic efforts of all of these partners who had a hand in helping return this manatee to the wild population."
According to FWS, Pamlico is the first documented case of a manatee being successfully rescued in North Carolina. In 2021, a manatee was found by a beachgoer in Kill Devil Hills, however, it died before being rescued.
According to the University of North Carolina Wilmington, manatee sightings are becoming more common in NC during the warmer months.
"As global climate change continues to create warmer ocean temperatures, this is creating more suitable habitat areas for manatees along the Atlantic coast, causing them to venture farther away from Florida," Assistant Stranding Coordinator Alison Loftis said in a news release. "However, this becomes a problem when water temperatures drop below 68F. Water temperatures in the fall and winter can drop rapidly in North Carolina, trapping manatees in dangerously cold water and putting them at high risk of cold stress, as we saw in Pamlico's case."
Feeding these animals or giving them water is illegal, according to a news release, and it may cause them to delay migration south to warmer water.
Manatees that are used to being around humans may lose their fear of boats and humans, which makes them more susceptible to getting injured.
North Carolinians are encouraged to report injured or deceased manatees by calling the hotline at 910-515-7354. You can also report sightings of healthy manatees through the UNCW Marine Mammal Stranding Program.
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