A Happy Ending for a Manatee Rescued
from Northeast Waters
Ilya (above left) relaxes at the Miami Seaquarium with his pool companion, Glade, after being rescued and transported back to Florida. (Photo courtesy Miami Seaquarium)
A sirenian story had a happy ending this fall, when a manatee was rescued in late October from cold waters near New Jersey and brought safely back to Florida. The manatee was identified by researchers with the U.S. Geological Survey Sirenia Project as a male manatee named “Ilya.” Although Ilya had been known to biologists for about 15 years, he had not previously been documented outside of Florida.
Reports of Ilya’s expedition started surfacing last summer. He was first spotted in the Chesapeake Bay near the end of July. By mid-September, Ilya had traveled to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and was seen several times near Dennis and Orleans. A week later, he was seen in Connecticut.
Ilya was sighted in Mystic, CT in September. (Photo courtesy Janice D'Angelo)
In early October, there was no sign of Ilya, and everyone hoped that he had decided to finally head south for the winter. On Thursday, October 15th, however, Ilya startled a refinery worker by appearing at a warm water outflow at the ConocoPhillips Bayway Refinery near Linden, New Jersey. At that time of the year, water temperatures in the Arthur Kill, where Ilya was located, were estimated to be between 60 and 64 degrees. Typically, manatees cannot tolerate water temperatures below 68 degrees for long periods of time. The warm water discharge from the oil refinery heated the surrounding waters to 75 degrees, which is what likely attracted Ilya.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service planned a rescue for that weekend but were thwarted by a nor’easter, which brought heavy wind and rains and made conditions too dangerous. Volunteers from the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, a rescue group in nearby Brigantine, tried to keep Ilya near the outflow by feeding him, but he disappeared for about a week before he was sighted again by refinery workers on October 26th.
The rescue team quickly reassembled and was finally able to capture Ilya on October 27th after four attempts over seven long hours. Ilya was transported to an indoor heated pool at the stranding center and given care by veterinarians. Surprisingly, he was in pretty good health. After being cleared for travel, he came back to Florida in style on a U.S. Coast Guard C-130 cargo aircraft and is currently recovering from his adventures at the Miami Seaquarium. Dr. Maya Rodriguez, the Seaquarium veterinarian who participated in the rescue and is currently caring for Ilya, says he is doing well and socializing with a young female named Glade. Ilya will likely be released in the month of December.
Special thanks to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Manatee Rescue, Rehabilitation, and Release Program for coordinating the rescue, and to the more than 40 people who made Ilya’s rescue a success: staff and volunteers from the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Miami Seaquarium, and Point Pleasant Dive and Rescue Team as well as government officials, refinery workers, and veterinarians. ConocoPhillips employees operated boats and a crane for the rescue effort and the refinery provided a heated tent with food and hot coffee for the rescue workers.
Update! Ilya Available for Adoption
If you are interested in adopting Ilya, Save the Manatee Club has added him to the Adopt-A-Manatee program. Proceeds from adoptions of Ilya will go toward rescue and rehabilitation of endangered manatees.
