Editors
note: Please welcome columnist John Hinners to TownDock.net,
for a monthly look at paddling in Pamlico County. John is the
founder of the Pamlico Paddle (an annual paddling event attended
by 90 folks last year), author of a series of guides to paddling
Pamlico County, and is well known for his knowledge and passion
for being on the water under paddle power...
February
15, 2004
You
never know who you might meet out there.
Oyster Creek drains the north edge of Goose Creek Island, carrying
water from a vast network of tributaries and ditches into the
Pamlico River. It was the perfect setting for the fourth Pamlico
Paddle a few years back.
 |
After timing
the intermediate route some weeks before the paddle, I was churning
out of Middle Prong in the fading light when behind me somebody
went “FFFWWWSSSHHH- gurgle-splash”. Being a senior
citizen, I said “Holy Smoke” and spun around. Snorkeling
toward me like a WWII sub was a squarish snout, framing twin,
perfectly round holes. It soon slipped under and left only a
rolling mound of water behind.
I ran down a mental list of things it could not be, including
the mother of all otters or a Paul Bunyan beaver, and came to
a conclusion.
Well, when I got to the landing, I ran my idea by a few friendly
local fishermen.
“Naw, you saw a dolphin. Yep, there are lots of them out
there. Had to be. See them all the time.” “But”,
I stammered, “no arching back, no fin.” “Yep,
it was a dolphin. See them all over.”
I got the same response from other skeptics, then called my
friend, Carla Byrnes, who knows. “Sure it was a manatee.
Such sweet babies. Wish I had been there.”
 |
I held
my doubts for many months, and then, just a few issues ago “Wildlife
In North Carolina” had a gem of an article on manatees
that reported increases in North Carolina sightings, -- and
darned if one of the hot spots wasn’t the Pamlico River.
Furthermore, these shy creatures, distant cousins of the elephant
and looking more like an elephant than a mermaid (poor frustrated
early mariners), range as far north as Virginia during the warm
months.
So, come spring, pack a lunch and a copy of “The Northern
Guide”* and launch your kayak at the ramp at Oyster Creek.
You might be rewarded with an encounter with the gentle manatee.
If you enjoy them quietly from a distance, as you should any
wildlife, they may decide to come and look you over.
For more on
manatees in North Carolina, click here.
*The Northern Guide, one of the paddle trail guides to Pamlico
County, is available free at the county visitors center and
some local merchants.
Reminder - mark your calendars for this years Pamlico paddle,
set for May 1 at Dawsons Creek.
