Manatee spotted on Cape may be swimming home

By Beth Daley, Globe Staff

Oh Ilya the sea cow, is that you?

Ever since a wrinkled-muzzle manatee was spotted off Cape Cod last month, scientists and environmentalists have hoped the adventurous Floridian would turn around before succumbing to plummeting water temperatures.

A manatee died of hypothermia last year as scientists were carrying it to Florida after they had plucked it from Cape Cod waters. Mindful of that tragedy, scientists were crafting a rescue plan for Ilya in hopes of getting to him before the cold.

But the gentle mammal, a relative of the elephant, may be swimming home on its own.
A few days after Ilya's last sightings in Dennis and Orleans around September 15, a fisherman reported a manatee heading south in the Cape Cod Canal. Then, a manatee was spotted off Connecticut, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare based on the Cape.

No one is sure it is Ilya. But it is probably a good guess: Manatees hardly ever come this far north. And Ilya was the only sea cow spotted in New England this year, possibly lured by extraordinarily warm coastal waters.

If Ilya makes it back, it is likely to be one the longest documented summer sojourns by a manatee. Only about 4,000 manatees remain around Florida.

Here's hoping it's you Ilya. Godspeed.