The 1,200-pound sea cow, nicknamed Chessie, headed north from Florida two months ago and was last seen along the shore of Connecticut's Long Island Sound, after it apparently reversed direction to warmer waters. Scientists said the transmitter was recovered off the coast of New Haven after the manatee lost the radio buoy on Aug. 22. Now biologists don't know exactly where he is. Yet overall, I'm real happy that we were able to successfully track his movements north through 11 states. Diana Weaver, spokeswoman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said Chessie sightings by people off the coast will now be the only way to pinpoint his locale.
Manatees are an endangered species.
The buoy had been transmitting Chessie's latitude and longitude to experts studying his unusual migration some 2,000 miles north of Florida. Chessie made history in August when he became the first of his species known to reach New England. At Point Judith, R.I., he turned around, traveling 90 miles southwest before losing the transmitter, giving trackers hope that he's headed home. Reid held out hope that Chessie would be spotted again. Groups worry about metal discharge rule changes Recently revised state standards will allow the discharge of more metals into Pennsylvania waterways, putting the health of aquatic life at risk, environmental groups argue.