RICHMOND, Va. -
A manatee has been spotted frolicking in
the James River near Richmond.
Sgt. Joe Owen Jr. with the Dinwiddie County Sheriff's Office snapped a photograph of the sea creature while bass fishing on Tuesday.
Maggie Lynott with the Virginia Aquarium Stranding Response Program said she received a number of calls from others who also spotted the manatee.
Manatees are an endangered species native to Florida. They resemble giant seals.
Owen estimated the one he saw was 8 to 10 feet long, weighing 700 to 1,000 pounds.
Lynott said it is unusual for manatees to venture so far up the James.The last sighting in Richmond was in 2002.
This summer, about a half-dozen manatees were reported in the Chesapeake Bay or off the Virginia coast.
Information from: Richmond Times-Dispatch, http://www.timesdispatch.com
Sgt. Joe Owen Jr. with the Dinwiddie County Sheriff's Office snapped a photograph of the sea creature while bass fishing on Tuesday.
Maggie Lynott with the Virginia Aquarium Stranding Response Program said she received a number of calls from others who also spotted the manatee.
Manatees are an endangered species native to Florida. They resemble giant seals.
Owen estimated the one he saw was 8 to 10 feet long, weighing 700 to 1,000 pounds.
Lynott said it is unusual for manatees to venture so far up the James.The last sighting in Richmond was in 2002.
This summer, about a half-dozen manatees were reported in the Chesapeake Bay or off the Virginia coast.
Information from: Richmond Times-Dispatch, http://www.timesdispatch.com
