Ilya’s odyssey may be in home stretch
(M. Holmes/IFAW)
The manatee that visited Cape Cod may be on its way back to Florida.
Oh Ilya the sea cow, is that you?
Ever since a wayward 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 loss, scientists were crafting a rescue plan for Ilya in hopes of getting to him before the cold does.
But the gentle mammal with the wrinkled muzzle, a relative of the elephant, may be swimming home on his own.
A few days after Ilya’s last sightings in Dennis and Orleans around Sept. 15, a fisherman reported a manatee heading south in the Cape Cod Canal. Then, a manatee was spotted off Connecticut last week, 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 very warm coastal waters this season.
Only about 4,000 manatees remain around Florida. If Ilya makes it back, it is likely to be one of the longest documented summer sojourns by a manatee.
BETH DALEY 
