Chessie the manatee is seen again!
Subject of Rainbow's most popular show returns to Virginia
A Florida manatee named Chessie is perhaps the most famous and well traveled manatee
along the USAtlantic coast. Radio tagged and tracked by the US Geological Survey's Sirenia
Project, he gained media fame in the summer of 1995 by swimming past the mid-Atlantic
states, through New York City, and all the way to Rhode Island, further than any manatee
had been known to venture. After returning to Florida for the winter, he again wandered
north as far as Virginia where he was last seen in 1996.
On August 30, 2001, Chessie was photographed at the Great Bridge Locks in Virginia! Joel
Scussel, civil engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Rob Poyner of
U.S. Facilities, Inc. were working at the Great Bridge Locks in Virginia when they noticed
a manatee in the lock basin. Because manatees are only occasionally seen this far north,
they notified Sue Barco, a marine
mammal scientist at the Virginia Marine Science Museum, who brought her research team to
the locks. While the manatee waited patiently in the lock basin for the gates
to open, Sue, Joel, and Rob watched and photographed the distinctive scar pattern on the
manatee. Afterwards, the gates were opened and the manatee continued his trip south. The
photographs were then sent to Cathy Beck and Amy Teague at the USGS's Sirenia Project
where they used the manatee photo-identification catalog to match scar patterns and
confirm his identity as Chessie!
Chessie first gained notoriety in the fall of 1994 when he was sighted far beyond the
usual range of manatees in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, captured and returned by U.S. Coast
Guard plane to Florida. He was released into the Banana River, Brevard County wearing a
VHF and satellite-monitored radio tag attached to a harmless, pliable belt around the base
of his tail. USGS Sirenia Project biologist Jim Reid kept track of Chessie as he moved
into southeastern Florida, and then in the spring of 1995, as he moved northward into
Georgia waters. By mid-July 1995, he was again in Chesapeake Bay. This time he was not
captured, but Jim continued to follow him, using the signals emitted from Chessie's radio
transmitter, through Delaware Bay, into salt marshes near Atlantic City, New Jersey and
Connecticut, past the Statue of Liberty, and through Long Island Sound. Chessie stopped
briefly to rest and feed along the way, but continued his northward
movement until he reached Point Judith, Rhode Island on 16 August 1995. Here he
encountered cooler water and turned around to return to the warmer waters of Long Island
Sound. His radio tag broke free on 22 August in New Haven, Connecticut, but public
sightings were received as he continued his journey south. On 23 September 1995 he passed
through the Great Bridge Locks, then was seen in Florida waters near Jacksonville on 16
November 1995.
Chessie was seen again in
February 1996 near Ft. Lauderdale. A radio transmitter was attached again to the belt that
he still wore. His movements north were tracked once more, and he crossed the
Florida-Georgia border in mid-June. Unfortunately, he lost his transmitter on 10 July near
Beaufort, North Carolina. The last time Chessie was seen was on 18 August 1996, swimming
south past Portsmouth, Virginia.
Since then, several sighting reports of manatees in Maryland, Virginia, and North and
South Carolina have been forwarded to us, but none could be confirmed as Chessie. This
time, the manatee was positively identified as Chessie through the USGS Sirenia Project's
manatee photo-identification catalog, a computerized database of photographically
documented manatees. Each manatee in the database is recognized by one or more unique
features, most commonly the scars inflicted by non-lethal encounters with boats. In 1994,
Chessie was photographically documented prior to his release in Florida and was
recognizable by a distinct long gray scar with several small white spots within this
dorsal feature. He has since acquired tail mutilations as well, but they are not severe.
Our thanks to all the lock personnel, especially Joel Scussel and Rob Poyner, at Great
Bridge Locks, and Sue Barco and the rest of the team from the Virginia Marine Science
Museum for reporting and documenting this manatee sighting so well. We are all delighted
to know that Chessie is alive and continuing his travels!
USGS News Release
Chessie the Manatee on a Comeback Tour After 5-Year
Hiatus
By fin and flipper -- this is a manatee that sure knows how to get around! After a
five-year disappearance, Chessie, perhaps the most famous and well-traveled manatee along
the U.S. Atlantic Coast, has been sighted again in coastal Virginia.
After first being radio-tagged and tracked by the manatee researchers with
the U.S. Geological Survey in 1994, Chessie gained media fame in the summer of 1995 by
swimming past the mid-Atlantic states, through New York City and yes, even by the Statue
of Liberty, and all the way to Rhode Island, farther than any manatee had been known to
venture. After returning to Florida for the winter, he again wandered north again as far
as Virginia where he was last seen in 1996,
according to USGS scientists.
Three weeks ago, Chessie was photographed in Great Bridge, Va., at the Great Bridge Locks.
Two engineers, Joel Scussel and Rob Poyner, were working at the Great Bridge Locks when
they noticed a manatee in the lock basin. Because manatees are only occasionally seen this
far north, they notified Sue Barco, a marine mammal scientist at the Virginia Marine
Science Museum, who brought
her research team to the locks. While the manatee patiently cooled its flippers in the
lock basin waiting for the gates to open, Barco, Poyner, and Scussel watched the manatee
and photographed his distinctive scar pattern. Afterward, they opened the gates, and the
manatee continued his trip south.
The photographs were sent to USGS manatee researchers, who used the manatee
photo-identification catalog to match scar patterns and to excitedly confirm the
traveler's identity as Chessie. 
Barco said that it was clear from the animal's behavior that it had been through these or
similar lock systems before. "But we didn't think it was Chessie because of the new
scars on his tail and back. But after getting the confirmation that it was Chessie, we are
very happy to know he is doing well."
Chessie first gained fame in the fall of 1994 when he was sighted in the Maryland waters
of Chesapeake Bay, considered far outside the normal winter range of manatees. The adult
male manatee, now known as Chessie, was captured by the National Aquarium and U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service and returned by U.S. Coast Guard plane to Florida. Chessie was
released into the Banana River near Kennedy Space Center, wearing a satellite-monitored
radio tag attached to a
harmless, pliable belt around the base of his tail.
USGS manatee biologist Jim Reid kept track of Chessie as he moved into southeastern
Florida, and then in the spring of 1995, as he moved northward. By mid-July 1995, Chessie
was again in Chesapeake Bay. Because the bay waters were warm, the manatee was not
captured. Reid continued to track Chessie by using the signals emitted from his radio
transmitter, through Delaware Bay and into salt marshes near Atlantic City, New Jersey and
Connecticut, past the Statue of
Liberty, and through Long Island Sound. Chessie stopped briefly to rest and feed along the
way, but continued his northward movement until he reached Point Judith, Rhode Island, in
mid-August, 1995.
As many a Rhode Island swimmer can attest, the Floridian-born Chessie found the waters a
wee bittoo cold and turned around to return to warmer waters. A week later, Chessie's
radio tag broke free in New Haven, Conn., but public sightings enabled the researchers to
track Chessie's whereabouts as he continued his journey south. In late September, Chessie
passed through the Great Bridge Locks - the same place he was spotted several weeks ago -
and then was seen in Florida waters near Jacksonville in mid-November.
Chessie wisely stayed in warmer Florida waters that winter, where he was sighted near Ft.
Lauderdale in February 1996, and where researchers again attached a radio transmitter to
the belt that he still wore. Once again, manatee scientists tracked Chessie's movements
until his transmitter was lost near Beaufort, NC. Chessie was last seen in August, 1996,
swimming south past Portsmouth, Va.
Since then, several sighting reports of manatees north of the Carolinas have been
forwarded to USGS manatee researchers, but none of these sightings could be confirmed as
Chessie. This time, though, researchers were able to positively identify Chessie through
the USGS manatee photo-identification catalog, a computerized database of photographically
documented manatees. Each manatee in the database is recognized by one or more unique
features, most commonly the scars inflicted by non-lethal encounters with boats.
In 1994, scientists had photographed Chessie - and his unique markings and scars - before
his release in Florida. USGS researchers Cathy Beck and Amy Teague were elated when they
were able to identify Chessie from the photos - there was Chessie's distinctive long gray
scar on his back, with several small white spots apparent within the scar. Since then,
said Beck, Chessie has also acquired tail mutilations as well, but these scars are not
severe.
"By enabling researchers to individually identify Chessie and other manatees, the
long-term photographic database documents movements, reproductive histories, and survival
of these endangered mammals," Beck said.
Since Chessie's noteworthy trips, more public sightings of manatees have occurred in
northeastern states. USGS manatee scientists believe that Chessie's annual migration from
Florida to the Chesapeake Bay may have been common for manatees in previous centuries. The
repeated sightings of a "sea monster" in the Chesapeake Bay, nicknamed
"Chessie," date back throughout this century and possibly include manatee
sightings that were not properly identified. Chessie was named after this purported sea
monster.
Cooperation among members of the Marine Mammal Sighting Networks, oceanaria, government
agencies and the public on Chessie's migration has, said Reid, raised the public's
awareness of this unique endangered marine mammal. "Manatees," said Reid,
"are long-lived and typically repeat established movement patterns. It's likely that
sightings of Chessie or other manatees will occur again in these northern areas."
For future sightings, the public should contact local wildlife authorities, who will get
in touch with the USGS manatee team.
The USGS serves the nation by providing reliable scientific information to describe and
understand the Earth; minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters; manage
water, biological, energy, and mineral resources; and enhance and protect our quality of
life.
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