A dead manatee was found Tuesday washed up in the marsh at the mouth of Shem Creek
© Jonathan WhiteA dead manatee was found Tuesday washed up in the marsh at the mouth of Shem Creek
It didn't look real, at first, when Jonathan White glanced at the marsh bank as he paddled out of Shem Creek. Then he realized the manatee was dead.

The carcass of the large sea mammal was found Tuesday and recovered Wednesday by the S.C. Department of Natural Resources. A necropsy was underway.

White, of Oakmont, Pa., and others who saw it thought it might have been struck by a boat. An adult manatee has few if any natural predators.

"It was sad," he said. "They'd never hurt anything."

But no sign of a strike was found.

"The results were inconclusive, except to note an acute cause of death," said Erin Weeks, DNR spokeswoman. "There were no obvious propeller wounds or broken ribs, but the animal had been healthy and feeding full of plant material up until its death." The manatee a young male, 9½ feet long, she said.


Manatees are bulbous, seal-like creatures. Their whiskery puppy-like faces and lolling, seemingly serene behavior often delights onlookers. Some 50 or more of the "sea cows" make their way to South Carolina each summer from their wintering grounds in Florida, or about 1 percent of the estimated population. About half turn up around Charleston.

They are an endangered species, although currently being considered for a downlisting to "threatened." They regularly roam the creek during summer months.

Manatees are in jeopardy at both ends of their seasonal migration because they roam shallow tidal waters to search for food, or the same waters crowded by boats during the summer. They occasionally are fed by human hand or dock water is left running for them, both of which are illegal. The practice draws them to boating spots.

The poky mammals need to surface to breathe, and boat propeller strikes are a leading cause of death.

Elizabeth Anderegg, of Nature Adventure Outfitters, said speeding boats are a recurrent problem in the shallow, sandbar-laden waters at the creek mouth. She has found two rare Kemp's ridley sea turtles struck by boats in the creek waters.

"Boats come out, they pass that last buoy and they just push the throttle to the 'roar.' I've seen them hit the sandbar at full speed," she said. "The manatee feed on algae and grasses in those shallows. I'd like people to know they are slow, threatened and not fearful of us. Be aware they are here and not be reckless with our boats."