Manatee Grayton Beach

[tsutcli]

Sighting about 3:30 near Watersound just cruising yesterday. Thought it was a large manta ray

 

[2bohemians]

We saw one while we were out surfing a couple of years ago! Was coming right at us and we were relieved once we realized the big black shadow was a manatee, not a giant shark!

 

[Scooter]

 

[TreeFrog]

It wasn't long after a fisherman reeled in a 3' or so mackerel. People clapped when he pulled that in. I probably would have missed the manatee if my friend hadn't seen people heading to the shore and looking out at the sandbar.

Some of these manatees from around Big Bend and southward have been known to venture along the Panhandle to the Mississippi Sound between Dauphin Island, Alabama and the Alabama mainland and along the Mississippi coast towards the Mississippi River, then head back east. I've heard of a few sightings of single cows making this treck. A friend said he saw one wobble ashore on Grayton Beach one night when he was a kid.

Wasn't there a story in the last year or two that one made it all the way up the river to Memphis?

 

[Matt J]

It wasn't long after a fisherman reeled in a 3' or so mackerel. People clapped when he pulled that in. I probably would have missed the manatee if my friend hadn't seen people heading to the shore and looking out at the sandbar.

Some of these manatees from around Big Bend and southward have been known to venture along the Panhandle to the Mississippi Sound between Dauphin Island, Alabama and the Alabama mainland and along the Mississippi coast towards the Mississippi River, then head back east. I've heard of a few sightings of single cows making this treck. A friend said he saw one wobble ashore on Grayton Beach one night when he was a kid.

Your friend is either pulling your leg or that was one ugly person pulling themselves out of the gulf. Manatees are water based creatures only and never come ashore.

 

[Everytime]

Your friend is either pulling your leg or that was one ugly person pulling themselves out of the gulf. Manatees are water based creatures only and never come ashore.

This was before he took to the "adult" bottle or any mind-altering extracurriculars; said he saw it with his family and some other Grayton regulars, would have been in the 1980s. I have no idea what he saw, but he described it as "some type a sea cow or something." SNL Landshark? Mermaid (which manatees were once mistaken for by lonely/drunken sailors)?

 

[Matt J]

This was before he took to the "adult" bottle or any mind-altering extracurriculars; said he saw it with his family and some other Grayton regulars, would have been in the 1980s. I have no idea what he saw, but he described it as "some type a sea cow or something." SNL Landshark? Mermaid (which manatees were once mistaken for by lonely/drunken sailors)?

I should have originally added that he should get his eye sight checked. It was probably a sea turtle. Not much else crawls out of the water here.

The bold part still gets me, I realize it was a long journey, but it seems like they hadn't seen a woman ever to make that mistake.

 

[RiverOtter]

My son was terrified as we pulled up alongside the manatee, as it was rather large, but not the largest I've seen. My kayak is 9.5 feet long and the manatee was a bit longer and much wider. I was able to get out of my kayak and as the it passed me I allowed my hand to pass along it, giving it a friendly pet. My son chose to stay in the boat. The manatee was heading east and I'm sure was spotted by a number of other lucky beach goers.

Flroida comes through again with something special.

Awesome! I am green with envy

 

[Seabreeze]

If that manatee was wearing a black, one-piece bathing suit, it was likely my ex-wife. People have confused them before...

 

[bluemtnrunner]

A friend said he saw one wobble ashore on Grayton Beach one night when he was a kid.

Mayhaps it was a giant walking catfish. I believe at one time in the species' history they were land mammals, notice the "toenails" on the front flippers.