Scientists standing by to rescue rare manatee sighted in cold New England waters

A manatee was recently spotted off the coast of Massachusetts for the first time in almost a decade

BOSTON -- A manatee was recently spotted off the coast of Massachusetts for the first time in almost a decade and scientists want to monitor its condition to see if a rescue is necessary before it succumbs to the cold water or lack of food, they said Friday.

The threatened species, which makes its habitat in warmer southern Gulf waters in places like Florida, was first seen July 26 off the southwestern coast of Cape Cod in the area of Nantucket Sound. Mashpee resident Jennifer Sullivan took a video of it swimming alongside paddle boarders in an inlet behind a marina surrounded by sea grass.

She said on Monday that she found the manatee, which was as long and wide as her paddleboard, “just lazing around there in the grass going as slowly as possible.”

“It was completely unfazed by us," said Sullivan, who went on to say she felt “just in awe of how graceful the creature was and to be so close in the wild to it.”

A few days later, the animal was seen stranded on the tidal flats in Mattapoisett. Bystanders who found the manatee beached on the flats around sunrise pushed it back into the water, said Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries Protected Species Program Manager Erin Burke.

It hasn't been spotted since, Burke said, but a team with the International Fund for Animal Welfare is standing by to rescue the animal if it becomes necessary.

The species prefers swimming in warmer waters, usually traveling only as far north as the Carolinas. If the manatee stays in water that is too cold for too long, it could suffer severe illness or death, said New England Aquarium Research Scientist Dr. Nadine Lysiak.

Additionally, manatees are herbivores that sustain themselves on extensive seagrass beds and mangroves not typically found in New England.

“Even if it doesn’t experience cold stunning, it may have some health declines associated with not having enough food, not having enough water,” she said. “So it’s important to intervene as soon as it's sighted again to prevent health declines.”

Lysiak said it's unclear how and why the manatee found its way so far north. It may have followed the warm water Gulf Stream current system from Florida up past the Carolinas and eventually found its way to New England, she said.

“We have kind of an average understanding of what a wild population does in terms of their range, or their habitat range, and some individuals will go beyond that and maybe wander or seek out other habitats or other food sources," she said. "It’s hard to know exactly why this manatee came to Cape Cod.”

Manatee sightings are uncommon in New England, but not unheard of.

In 2008 and 2009, different manatees were sighted in Cape Cod Bay — the furthest north the animals have ever been identified. Both were eventually rescued, with one dying on the trip to Florida for rehabilitation. The other survived the trip south, living until 2018.

In 2016, a manatee was spotted off the coast of Falmouth. In 2023, one of the animals was seen in Rhode Island.

Anyone who sees the manatee is asked to document their GPS position and call the stranding network hotline, (508) 743-9548.

Sullivan said she feels “blessed that I could be in the right place and the right time to see the creature," and she's hoping it's healthy and safe.

“I pray he just turned right around and went back south," she said.