Manatee Spotted In RI Waters Has Died, Officials Confirm

NARRAGANSETT, RI — The manatee spotted recently in a various locations across Rhode Island—the first seen in state waters in seven years—has been found dead offshore, Mystic Aquarium officials confirmed to Patch Friday afternoon.

Manatees, often called sea cows, typically prefer warmer waters, like off the coast of Florida.

But this sea mammal, reportedly measuring in at 8 feet long, has been making the rounds in Rhode Island since first being spotted Sept. 9 in Weekapaug, Sarah Callan manager of the Mystic Aquariuam's Animal Rescue Program, told Patch in a phone interview.

Callan added that the manatee was "very mobile," with sightings from then until Sept. 18 in places like Narragansett and Warren. The Boston Globe also reported that the sea cow was seen in Quonochontaug Pond in Charlestown Sept. 10, citing the Department of Environmental Management.

In a post shared Sept. 27 on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Carmichael Lab - Dauphin Island Sea Lab wrote that the manatee was showing "no signs of distress."

"Colleagues at the Mystic Aquarium are monitoring the manatee as we move into fall and cooler water temperatures," the lab wrote.

Ideally, teams would have been able to watch the manatee as it headed back down the coast to warmer waters on its own, Callan said. But even if a rescue was the best option, it was difficult for them to track the animal down as it was so active—not to mention the need for multiple specialized teams and vessels for a safe rescue and a hurricane on the way.

Despite this, Callan said that that with the help of other teams, Mystic Aquariuam's Animal Rescue Program had developed a plan should the manatee be sighted in an area where they were able to "get hands on it."

But a rescue never happened. Callan's team confirmed Thursday that at some point along the way, the manatee had died. It was found in the water, floating between Prudence Island and Hog Island.

"The last confirmed report we've had was on the 18th, and we were hoping that we would get another confirmed report of it after that," she explained. "We had a couple people call our hotline that said they think they saw manatee, but we never had any photos to go with it."

Due to the manatee's body's state of decay, it would be very difficult to determine exactly how it died, Callan said. Some possible explanations are an illness a vessel strike, predation, or cold stress due to water temperatures.

"There's so many things that it could be and we won't ever know," according to Callan, who added that they aren't even sure exactly where the carcass is right now.

"It's an unfortunate case in the sense that it's not the outcome we wanted to see," she said. "I think the best case scenario would've been we could have rescued it and rehabbed it and flown it back down south and released it."

But there is a silver lining, according to Callan.

"If a manatee were to come up in this area again—and with warming waters, it's not totally off the table to start seeing manatees up north more frequently—we now have the resources lined up," she said.

"Manatees can travel hundreds of miles throughout the year, and while they are rarely found in the Ocean State, they have been seen in our waters before, including in 2006 and 2016," DEM officials said in a post on X. "Preferring warmer waters, they typically stay near the Florida Peninsula and Gulf Coast but expand their range in the summer."

Manatees are typically 10 feet long and weigh about 1,200 pounds, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They're also related to elephants, NOAA officials said. Despite their size, manatees are graceful creatures.

Manatees are listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. DEM officials said they are monitoring the manatee with assistance from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Mystic Aquarium.

DEM officials said manatee sightings can be reported to the Mystic Aquarium Animal Rescue Hotline at 860-572-599, extension 107.

"Call your local stranding organization [in Rhode Island, that's the National Marine Fisheries Service] and let them know about a sighting," Callan said. "They can source out all the logistics for how that they would respond to it."

Callan added that the main tip she'd give to the community is just to be mindful of marine life, adding that manatees are at the surface a lot to breathe and are prone to vessel strikes.

"One thing from this case is that the community was so invested in this animal; they were fabulous to work with," she said. "We really appreciate everyone's concern for the animal and all the reports that we received ... Report those sightings as quickly as possible, because time is really of the essence of these cases."