‘We were shocked’: Baby manatee spotted swimming around Conway marina

When Harlee Holtzclaw’s 10-year-old daughter spied a manatee in the Waccamaw River at the Conway Outpost and Marina, Holtzclaw and her mother thought the animal had to be an alligator. That changed when they saw the small manatee for themselves.

“She said, ‘Mom, it’s a manatee,’ and my mom was like, ‘Yeah, whatever,’ like, laughed it off like she was joking, and she goes, ‘No, wait, Harlee, something big and round just went under that pier’,” Holtzclaw said. “So, we all kind of walked over onto the pier ... and he just popped up.”

To the group’s delight, they watched as the manatee swam out from the pier, circled around the boat ramp and returned to deeper water. Holtzclaw’s 4-yer-old daughter can be heard in the video saying hi to the young aquatic mammal.

“We never expected to see that there, at all,” said Holtzclaw. “I did not believe her at all when she told me that she saw a manatee in the water.”

Adult manatees typically grow to about 9 to 10 feet, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Holtzclaw estimates the manatee spotted in Conway was around 4 to 5 feet long, which would make it a baby. She reported the sighting, including coordinates, to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

Migrating manatees are sometimes spotted in Grand Strand from late spring through the fall. The mammals can survive in both fresh and salt water, but they’re most often seen in tidal creeks and estuaries.

While manatees aren’t among the most commonly spotted animals in South Carolina, SCDNR wildlife biologist Kelly Lambertone told the Sun News the agency received 289 manatee sightings in 2025, an increase from recent years.

This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 10:29 AM.