Know Your Ocean: Sweet Pea, The Adventuresome Manatee

"Man will protect that which he loves" Saint Jacques Yves Cousteau

Ahhhh.. the lovable, gentle cow of the deep, the manatee. What magic do these animals possess that makes us so automatically drawn to them? I think it may have something to do with that wrinkled nose and somewhat sad face...like a Sharpai puppy. And on a deeper level, they seem to have that same mysterious human awareness that we see in dolphins. It is a rarity and a concern for a manatee to be seen further north than Florida. They prefer water that is warmer than 67 degrees and would have trouble surviving in water under 60 degrees. But Sweet Pea evidently has quite the adventuresome spirit. He was discovered last Fall playing in Shem Creek in Mount Pleasant and spotted surfacing in Charleston Harbor. You would think that a robust creature like the manatee would be able to handle cold water with all the insulation they have, but their very low metabolic rate makes cold water endurance difficult. ( I have the same problem.) Manatees live to be 60 years old and in West African culture, they are considered to be sacred, thought to have once been human. Unfortunately, many contemporary imaginations are not fueled with myth, but anyone must have respect for an animal whose fossil remains found in Florida show they were inhabitants there over 45 million years ago. Who knows what magic this animal holds...recent reseach is showing that the manatee can mysteriously distinguish where a swimmer is, even in blackout conditions.

I will look for Sweet Pea again this summer. Any sightings of him should be reported to The Department of Natural Resources since he is an endangered animal. Even though protection efforts have been helpful, there are still less than 2000 manatees living in Florida now. And of course, nothing should be done to encourage Sweet Pea's visit since it is dangerous for him to be cavorting this far north. The unusually warm fall weather we had last year may have influenced his decision to visit the northlands. We may never see him in this area again. We can only hope that Sweet Pea knew what he was doing and he made the 4 mph swim back to Florida safely.

Sweet Pea having a drink from a water hose in Shem Creek. Manatees don't have the neck vertebra that most mammals have, so they must turn their whole body in the direction they wish to look. As tempting as it can be, if you see a Manatee, you shouldn't give them water or interact with them in any way. (You don't want to interfere with the natural order of things by encouraging them to stay-and they will stay around just to interact with humans.)

Shem Creek in Mount Pleasant. I think one of the most beautiful spots in the South. A little too busy for Manatees' safety, but dolphins do frolick here all the time.

Know your Ocean: Wreck of the Starfish

"Man, of all the animals, is probably the only one to regard himself as a great delicacy."
Saint Jacques Yves Cousteau

Walking along Sullivan's Island this past week, I noticed there were a lot of dead starfish washed up along the beach. I later found out that this small sad disaster is an actual phenomenon referred to as "wreck of starfish". This phenomenon usually occurs in winter months when winter storms, as we have had off the coast recently, disturb the sub tidal animals normally protected in the sand. These rough seas lift the starfish into frigid waters where they die from exposure, and then the higher surf from winter winds washes them onto shore. A starmageddon of sorts.

Know Your Ocean: Palmetto, the mysterious Northern Right Whale, loves South Carolina.

"The happiness of the dolphin is to exist. For man it is to know that and to wonder at it."
Saint Jacques Yves Cousteau

The distinctive V-blow of the Northern Right Whale.

Palmetto, with her unique Palmetto tree on her head.


I just got back from a visit to Sullivan's Island where I did a little whale searching. The Northern Right whale can often be seen off the South Carolina and Georgia coasts from November through January during breeding and calving season. When you think of South Carolina, you don't really think about whale watching, but they are out there. In fact, we have a mysterious visitor who has been spotted off and on for several years off the South Carolina coast. Her name is Palmetto and she got this name because she has the SC state tree, the Palmetto, on her head. Her palmetto tree is actually formed from her callosities, callouses filled with tiny whale lice, which give each Right whale an identifying fingerprint. A group of elementary students in Sumter, SC noticed the palmetto tree resemblance and had her officially named by the New England Aquarium. Palmetto has fascinated researchers due to her mysterious appearances. She disappeared for 7 years as a young whale, then reappeared in 1996 with her first calf. She disappeared again, then was seen in 2005, just beyond the breakers at Pawley's Island, SC with another new calf. She seems to be visiting us to show off her new babies.

Right whales probably got their name because they were the "right" whale to hunt. They have lots of blubber, swim close to shore, and float easily after being killed. This led to them being the most endangered whale species in the world with only about 400 individuals. This makes the sighting of 39 calves off the SC coast last year especially exciting.

A Palmetto tree at Fort Moultrie...a good spot to look for whales.

These tiny cyamids are relatives to shrimp and crab. They were nicknamed "whale lice" by early whalers who probably were pretty familiar with the human variety with which they share a resemblance. The cyamids give the whale's callosities their white color.

Above is a picture taken of the Yang Ming cargo ship as she passes by Sullivan's Island on the way to Charleston Harbor. Right whales are especially vulnerable to ship strikes because they swim slowly, swim close to the shore, and they lack a dorsal fin, making them harder to spot. A new controversial Federal regulation limits a ship's speed coming into harbor in hopes of preventing whale strikes. Yang Ming seems to be doing a good job of following the speed limit. One of my favorite sounds is to be awakened in the middle of the night at Sullivan's Island from the deep rumbling of a ship's fog horn.

Check out your whale tale: place sides of hands together, palm up, slightly cup hands and tighten grip as if holding water... your own distinctive whale tale will appear. Maybe we are more connected than we thought. Learned this trick from a friendly fisherman.