Some people believe that sightings of a sea monster may have just been confused with the existence of the recently famous, and real, manatee who was also given the nickname of Chessie. The manatee from Florida was first captured in the waters of the Chesapeake Bay in the fall of 1994. Chessie the manatee was then equipped by scientists with a satelite-monitored radio tag and shipped back to Florida.

The manatee has been tracked by the U.S. Geological Survey's Sirenia Project. The monitoring of this manatee has shown the animal to have traveled as far north as Rhode Island. The manatee's tracking device became unattached and was found near Connecticut in August of 1995. The manatee was later spotted in Florida and retagged with a new tracking device in February of 1996.

The journeys of Chessie the manatee have sparked the desire of scientists to track other manatees and their travel patterns. As of 1996, seventeen manatees had been radio-tagged, but non travelled to any waters north of Georgia.


Some other reasons why Chessie may not exist:

• Showed up out of the blue, unlike the stories of other sea creatures such as Nessie of Loch Ness
• The Chesapeake Bay shallower than other bodies of water said to contain odd sea creatures:
  • Loch Ness
  • Lake Champlain
  • Lake Okanagan
• The Chesapeake Bay can get very cold in the winter

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