Scientists said Thursday the transmitter was recovered off the coast of New Haven. They believe the manatee lost the radio buoy on Tuesday after the mammal became entangled. 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 this month 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. Up to 2,000 manatees live along the United States, most off the Florida coast. Some migrate as far north as the Carolinas in the summer, but they usually stick to southern seas because they cannot live long in cold temperatures.