A dead manatee was found in the Myrtle Beach area. Here’s what we know about its death

The Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge pulled a dead manatee out of the Great Pee Dee River on Wednesday.

Craig Sasser, the refuge manager for the Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge, said he got a call Jan. 9 about a dead manatee in the Great Pee Dee River north of Georgetown. He went down to check it out on Wednesday and found the aquatic mammal.

Sasser estimated the manatee had been dead for a few weeks based on the state of decomposition. Sasser said he took a skin sample for testing, measured the animal and then put it back in the river. He did not see evidence of a boat strike on the manatee.

“I basically did the best I could with not a lot of skills set,” Sasser said. “I put it back in the river because it was decomposing.”

Usually the US Fish and Wildlife Service handles manatees in the area but was unable to this time.

Are manatees Myrtle Beach regulars?

Seeing a manatee in the Myrtle Beach area isn’t strange, as the marine animals follow the warm water north in the spring. They typically leave when the water temperatures drop below 70 degrees, but some may stay, said Erin Weeks, a media coordinator with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

The cold weather will kill the manatees as they can develop hypothermia. Sasser said over the past 15 years, he has seen five live manatees and three dead in the area.

The Sun News reported about a manatee spotted in the Intracoastal Waterway in September and another in the Cherry Grove area in October 2022.