Manatee dies before reaching rehab site
Animal endured 27-hour journey to Florida center
After a 27-hour trip to Florida, Dennis the manatee, rescued from the frigid waters of Cape Cod, died in Orlando yesterday as SeaWorld employees carted the mammal to a rehabilitation center.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare, based in Yarmouth Port , confirmed that the animal died at approximately 3 p.m.
"We heard the animal had done well during transport and quietly stopped breathing [yesterday] afternoon," said Katie Touhey, the emergency release manager for marine mammals, strandings, and entanglements at the animal welfare fund. "We thought the animal was going to make it, and when we heard it didn't, it was tough."
Touhey said a necropsy will be conducted soon to determine the cause of death.
The manatee's death stunned animal lovers and specialists.
"I can't help but feel sad when an animal dies after so much effort trying to save him," Touhey said. "Nature does what it is going to do, and that's just part of reality."
After being coaxed into a net, Dennis was loaded onto an 18- to 20-foot moving truck lined with padding at about noon Saturday. Feeding it nutrients intravenously and wrapping it in a heating blanket to raise the animal's temperature, crews drove the manatee to the rehabilitation center in Orlando.
Phil Burnham, 41, of Mansfield, was visiting relatives in Harwich Port when he brought his three children, ages 5, 7, and 9, to see Dennis leave the Cape.
"We saw him flip his fin and hit the side of the van after they loaded him in," Burnham said. "It was the first time I saw a manatee, but he wasn't in the water."
Chris Cutter, spokesperson for the International Fund for Animal Welfare, said he did not know the age of the manatee but officials believe it was a juvenile, estimated at about 9 feet long and approximately 800 pounds.
"This was the farthest north they have spotted one," Cutter said.
"He was in pretty bad shape when they pulled him from the water, but were able to calm him on the way down."
Temperatures in Sesuit Harbor, where Dennis swam were measured at 62 to 65 degrees, a dramatic difference from the southeastern waters where manatees usually reside. In August 2006, a sea cow was spotted in Woods Hole, before changing course and swimming to Rhode Island.
Touhey said the manatee was first spotted Sept. 24 near Fall River, but when the animal lingered in Sesuit Harbor, volunteers and workers from the animal welfare fund began working to capture and remove it to safer environs for treatment and release.
"It just swam here; sometimes that just happens," Touhey said. "Sometimes, it is out of habit to keep swimming, or they just put themselves here."
When Dennis was pulled from the water, his body temperature was 73 degrees, 24 degrees below normal, Cutter said. During transport, crews were able to raise his temperature to 89 degrees.
"The animal suffered from cold stress from being in the cold water and an environment it was not accustomed to," said Lauren Skowyra, spokesperson for SeaWorld. "The animal was headed to the rescue and rehabilitation facility for treatment and care until it would have been released into nature."
Cutter said he did not know the expenses for caring for the manatee and transporting it to Florida, but believes it cost tens of thousands of dollars.
"Most of our costs were manpower, but we had a lot of support from local Cape businesses that donated to the net we used to catch the manatee," Cutter said. "Besides the truck and gas to get down there, we had everything we needed here."
Crowds ranging from 150 to 600 people gathered at Sesuit Harbor in the last week to catch a rare glimpse of a manatee.
"When things go wrong for animals we should try and help them, and maybe moving it back to Florida was the appropriate thing to do," said Lisa Wathne, a Seattle-based spokesperson for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
"This is obviously a very sad and tragic thing, but I hope someone looks into how it was transported and if it was done properly."
Manatees are large plant-eating aquatic mammals sometimes called sea cows. They have two flippers in front and a broad, spoon-shaped tail and are considered endangered. They typically reside in waters off the coasts of Florida and Georgia, and an average adult can grow to be about 10 feet long and 1,200 pounds.
"They definitely did the right thing moving him," Burnham said. "Everyone knew he wasn't going to survive in the New England waters and they did all that they could to save him." 