Marine science researchers in Virginia recently spotted a manatee that had made a rare Chesapeake Bay appearance.
The Daily Press reports the animal showed up earlier this week at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science's boat basin along the York River.
The animals are built for warm waters, and their normal northernmost range is the Georgia coast.
The researchers were even more surprised when the manatee left the basin and began swimming farther up the York River instead of heading toward the mouth of the bay and warmer waters.
According to a news release from the institute, the last local live sighting in the Chesapeake region was July 2016 near Rudee Inlet in Virginia Beach.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
