2009 Cape Cod manatee flies from New Jersey home to Florida

October 30, 6:12 AMCape Cod Travel ExaminerDawn M Smith

Previous Next

3 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Cape Cod Travel Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Cape Cod's 2009 manatee, Ilya, is back in Florida,
I Robinson

Ilya, the manatee who spent a few weeks in Cape Cod Bay during September is finally back in Florida. The 10 year old manatee, an endangered species, had been seen in New Jersey just before a series of Nor’easters hit the Atlantic coast in mid-October.

The Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine, New Jersey  stood ready to rescue the manatee at that time but Ilya, the manatee, disappeared during the storms, triggering fears that he would not survive in the rapidly cooling waters. Post storm reports had him heading north, rather than south.

But yesterday, Ilya was loaded onto a plane bound for Florida, nearly two weeks after the storms prevented his intended rescue. He was picked up near a New Jersey oil refinery on Monday and given a few days recuperation at the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine before heading south from Atlantic City, this time aboard a plane not likely to detour north.

Ilya will spend some time recuperating at Miami Seaquarium.