VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – A Chesapeake Bay Foundation oyster outreach coordinator spotted a majestic animal in the Lynnhaven River.

Jessica Lutzow said she was pulling out one of the oyster gardens that was growing off the dock at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Brock Environmental Center.

“We pulled the cage up, checking things out,” she said.

A curly tail popped out.

“We saw his tale kind of come out,” Lutzow said.

It was this guy, a seahorse.

Lutzew said it’s actually not uncommon to see the rare species flowing through our waterways, but normally they like to stay in the shadows.

“The oyster shells are a really great place for them to hide and hang out,” Lutzow said.

She said this guy wasn’t your average.

“That was one of the largest ones I’ve seen,” Lutzow said. “It really was the size of our hand.” 

It’s also suspected that the male seahorse is pregnant, which is a unique trait of the upright fish.

“Seahorses are unusual in that the males carry dozens of their young in a pouch for several weeks before the babies emerge,” Kenny Fletcher, a Chesapeake Bay Foundation Communications Coordinator, said.

It means hundred of seahorses, or fry, could soon be filling out water, which is a good sign for the river.

“If you see them in the waterway, you know it’s kind of a mark of approval from mother nature that the water is doing fairly well,” Lutzow said.

After a few quick photos, the seahorse was released into the water.

CBF is also recruiting volunteer oyster gardeners this summer to raise oysters at home for restoration work and you could find a seahorse in your garden. It said volunteers often come across a range of aquatic life in the oyster cages. For more information, visit the CBF’s website.