Manatee With Wanderlust Leaves Scientists in His Wake

Chessie, the manatee who has kept scientists scrambling for months to keep up with his 2,000-mile migration from Florida to Rhode Island, has given them the slip.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman Linda Taylor said Thursday that the satellite transmitter attached to the manatee so that he could be tracked has fallen off.

She said it was found Wednesday about 90 miles west of Judith Point, R.I., the farthest known place the manatee has traveled.

“It’s not a panic-button type situation,” Taylor said. “It’s just a glitch.”

Manatees are an endangered species that resemble the walrus and rarely stray north of Georgia. Chessie, a 1,250-pound, 10-foot manatee, captured attention last October when he was spotted in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay.

Fearing the cold waters would kill him, scientists flew him back to Florida and tagged him. Chessie lost his transmitter once before, a week after it was first attached. He was sighted and re-tagged three months later.