Tools

FREE RIDE: Wandering Manatee Who Frequents Mass. Airlifted Home

Chris Boardman

Story Created: Oct 29, 2009 at 12:01 PM EDT

Story Updated: Oct 29, 2009 at 3:40 PM EDT

MIAMI (AP) - A wayward manatee has arrived in Florida after
being flown on a transport jet after being rescued from murky
waters near a New Jersey oil refinery.

Ilya left Atlantic City International Airport Thursday. Miami
Seaquarium was the ultimate destination.

The sea cow was pulled from a creek at the ConocoPhillips oil
refinery in Linden and had been recuperating at the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine.

Federal wildlife authorities kept the rescue a secret, fearing a
crush of media and well-wishers could stress the manatee.

Ilya needed to be rescued because New Jersey's waters are too
cold for him to survive for long. He's been migrating as far north
as Massachusetts for the past decade, but dithered too long in the Garden State this year.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Add a comment

Name:

Comment: 1000 Characters Left

Please post your full name and city on comments.

Comments are moderated and will not appear on this story until after they have been reviewed and deemed appropriate for posting.

ABC 6 and its affiliated companies are not responsible for the content of comments posted or for anything arising out of use of the above comments or other interaction among the users. We reserve the right to screen, refuse to post, remove or edit user-generated content at any time and for any or no reason in our absolute and sole discretion without prior notice, although we have no duty to do so or to monitor any Public Forum.

More Good Stuff
This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.
See more local news for your community
Warwick | Cranston | South East Massachusetts | Newport | Bristol | East Greenwich | Providence |
Local Guides
 Attleboro
 Central Falls
 Coventry
 Cranston
 Cumberland
 East Greenwich
 East Providence
 Fall River
 Foxboro
 Franklin
 Johnston
 Milford
 Newport
 North Attleboro
 North Dartmouth
 North Kingstown
 Norton
 Pawtucket
 Providence
 Taunton
 Tiverton
 Walpole
 Warwick
 West Warwick
 Woonsocket

Online Poll

Do You Think Increased Tax Revenue Means RI's Economy is Turning Around?

  • No, it's probably from some stealth tax HIKE that we don't know about.
  • Yes, things have been awful for awhile, and they're finally getting better.

On Demand

More On Demand

AP Video