A Virginia Beach boater got a rare sight when he caught a manatee slurping water from a hose running off the side of his pontoon boat.
TJ Browning was cleaning his boat when he noticed the slow-moving sea cow sipping water from the hose and started taking video of the encounter, the Virginia Pilot reported.
"He just rolled over on his side," Browning told the Pilot. "He was real calm and relaxed the whole time."
Manatees are migratory and live in Florida during the winter. During summer, they can be found as west as Texas and are commonly seen in Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. They have been spotted as far north as the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, the Virginia Pilot reported.
Browning noticed the nearly 10-foot-long manatee had several healing boat propeller scars.
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