
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, September 22, 1995                   TAG: 9509220101
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NORFOLK                                 LENGTH: Short

RAMBLIN' MANATEE DROPS BY THE BAY

Chessie, the manatee that swam as far north as New England this summer, was spotted Thursday in the lower Chesapeake Bay near the Norfolk Naval Air Station.

A Navy commander called the Virginia Marine Science Museum in Virginia Beach when he learned about the sighting, and the museum sent its ``stranding team'' to the site in case the animal needed care.

But Chessie - identified by a tag on the back - appeared ``perfectly healthy,'' said museum spokeswoman Lynn Clements.

``He was about 20 to 25 feet from the seawall. It appeared to be resting,'' Clements said.

Chessie's visit didn't last long. After about three hours, the creature disappeared, apparently continuing southward, Clements said.

The sea cow has baffled biologists but delighted water-watchers in its meanderings north from a winter home in Florida over the past two years. Thursday was the animal's third appearance since last fall in and around the Chesapeake Bay.

Scientists last year airlifted Chessie from the northern portion of the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia to Florida and electronically tagged the manatee.

The 1,200-pound, 11-foot mammal spent the summer of 1995 moving north. Biologists tracking Chessie noted the animal's departure from Jacksonville, Fla., on June 15, Clements said.

by CNB