08/08/2006
Freak Nature: Manatee Spotted in Manhattan
Monster hunters on the Hudson River have reported sightings of a large creature breaking the surface recently, and most experts agree that an adventurous manatee has swum north from its normal habitat, drawn by the unusually warm waters in our area. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation coordinator Nicole Mihnovets: "There’s no reason to doubt the sightings we’re getting. They do wander, and apparently this one is interested in checking things out a littler further. The water temperatures are suitable for it, so it just keeps going, feeding off the vegetation."
However, the sightings have opened the door to all sorts of speculation: "It could have been a sturgeon. We get them up to 600 pounds around here. It could be a small pilot whale for all we know. But no, this looked prehistoric and had barnacles. I didn’t say nothing because I didn’t want people to think I was crazy."
The creature was first spotted in Chelsea, then Harlem, and recently further up the river near Sleepy Hollow.
Was That a Manatee in the Hudson or Just a Fat Log? [nyt]
Posted 10:30 AM EST by Andy Towle in Nature, New York | Permalink
Like it?
Subscribe to FREE Towleroad daily headlines with our RSS feed!
RECENT STORIES:
Comments
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.
They are SO cute!!!
Posted by: Roy | Aug 8, 2006 10:37:42 AM
It's moving north from Chelsea - just like gay people!
Posted by: MT | Aug 8, 2006 11:08:35 AM
It's Bruce Vilanch
Posted by: Randy | Aug 8, 2006 11:16:24 AM
It's Chi Chi La Rue prowling the shoreline for love ...
Posted by: Robert In WeHo | Aug 8, 2006 11:27:54 AM
First Chelsea then Sleep Hollow? Folks what we have here is a gay manatee. Party on my portly friend.
Posted by: Digger | Aug 8, 2006 12:10:23 PM