by BOSTON (AP) – A Seacea was recently spotted for the first time in almost a decade off the coast of Massachusetts and scientists want to follow the situation to see if a rescue is needed before it collapses for the cold water or the lack of food, they said on Friday.
The endangered species, which makes its habitat in warmer southern golf waters in places like Florida, was first seen on July 26 in front of the southwestern coast of Cape Cod in the Nantucket Sound area. Jennifer Sullivan, resident of Mashpee, took a video of swimming next to Paddle Boarders in an inlet behind a marina surrounded by seagrass.
She said on Monday that she found the manatee, who was as long and wide as her padleboard, “just laze in the grass as slowly as possible.”
“It was not at all impressed by us,” said Sullivan, who was going to say that she “just felt awe about how graceful the being was and so close to the wild.”
A few days later the animal was seen stranded on the tidal flats in Mattapoisett. Bystanders who found the sea cow on the flats around sunrise pushed him back into the water, said Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries protected species program manager in Burke.
Since then it has not been spotted anymore, Burke said, but a team with the International Fund for Animal Welfare is equal to save the animal when needed.
The species prefers swimming in warmer waters, usually only as far north as the Carolinas. If the Seacea stays in water that is too cold for too long, this can suffer serious illness or death, said research scientist of New England Aquarium Dr. Nadine Lysiak.
Moreover, sea cows are herbivores that support themselves on extensive seagrass beds and mangroves that are not usually found in New England.
“Even if it does not experience cold amazing, it can have a number of health decreases related to not having enough food, do not have enough water,” she said. “It is therefore important to intervene as soon as it is again observed to prevent health.”
Lysiak said it is unclear how and why the Manatee has found its way to the north so far. It may have followed the current system of the hot water Gulf Stream from Florida along the Carolinas and finally found his way to New England, she said.
“We have some sort of understanding what a wild population does in terms of their reach, or their habitat range, and some individuals will continue and maybe wander or seek other habitats or other food sources,” she said. “It’s hard to know exactly why this Manatee came to Cape COD.”
The observations of the heaps are unusual in New England, but not unheard of.
In 2008 and 2009, various sea cows were observed in Cape Cod Bay – the furthest north the animals were once identified. Both were eventually saved, with one who died on the trip to Florida for rehabilitation. The other survived the journey to the south and lived until 2018.
In 2016 a sea cow was seen off the coast of Falmouth. In 2023 one of the animals was seen in Rhode Island.
Everyone who sees the Manatee is asked to document his GPS position and call the Stranding Network Hotline, (508) 743-9548.
Sullivan said that she “feels blessed that I could be in the right place and the right time to see the creature,” and she hopes it is healthy and safe.
“I pray that he just turned around and went back to the south,” she said.
