FLORIDA MANATEES, TRICHECHUS-MANATUS (SIRENIA, TRICHECHIDAE), IN NORTH-CAROLINA 1919-1994

Florida manatees, first reported in 1919 from North Carolina, are now known to have frequented 59 sites (68 individuals) during the period o f 1919-1994. All but two have been subadults of about 1.8-2.4-m length s. Only seven deaths have been recorded. Eleven coastal counties have harbored manatees. Four occurrences have been at inlets and six in the open ocean. Pelletier Creek, a Carteret County tributary of Bogue Sou nd, along with the Atlantic Ocean have been the most frequented sites (6); eight manatees occurred at a lush vegetation site in the Trent Ri ver (Craven County), a tributary of the Neuse River. Four records came from Wrightsville Beach and Sound, three manatees entered the state f rom Chesapeake Bay via the canal and Intracoastal Waterway into Currit uck Sound. Farthest inland river penetrations have been 94.4 km, 6.4 k m north of Wilmington; 92 km, Neuse River at Fort Barnwell Bridge, 33 km northeast of New Bern (Craven County); and one each penetrated the Tar River at Washington (58 km, Beaufort County) and Greenville (88 km , Pitt County). The increased frequency of occurrences in later years may be the result of an increased public awareness of the federally-pr otected species rather than a seemingly increasing population.