VIRGINIA BEACH
TJ Browning was flushing saltwater out of his pontoon boat engine when a whiskered face popped up next to his vessel.
A large, grayish brown manatee was helping itself to a drink from a hose hanging off Browning’s boat.
“It was just by luck he swam by and I had the hose running,” said Browning, who operates Bay Venture Boat Rentals on Little Neck Creek at the Oceanfront.
Manatee sightings are not uncommon in area waters from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel to Rudee Inlet during the summer, according to the Virginia Aquarium’s stranding response team.
But this is the first time that Browning has seen one in the small cove at the end of the narrow waterway where he has worked for years.
Little Neck Creek is a tributary of the Lynnhaven River. Its easternmost end where the manatee appeared is next to Laskin Road near the roundabout.
Manatees are herbivores that graze on sea grasses.
When the sea cow lifted its tail out of the water, Browning realized it was a big one. He estimated it was about 10 feet long and 4 feet in diameter. He also noticed several healed propeller wounds on its body.
Browning took pictures and recorded a video with his cellphone as the manatee quenched its thirst.
“He just rolled over on his side,” Browning said. “He was real calm and relaxed the whole time.”
Browning also notified the aquarium team.
The institution’s recommendation: To discourage manatees from staying around boats.
?Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com
