Pregnant Manatee Rescued Off Cape Cod Airlifted Back Home

FALMOUTH, MA — A pregnant and exhausted manatee rescued off Cape Cod last month is making the long journey home. "Washburn," weighing in at 1,100 pounds, was loaded into a Coast Guard plane Tuesday and flown to SeaWorld, where she will continue her rehabilitation before she's released back into the wild.

Washburn was rescued just in the nick of time on Sept. 22 near Falmouth's Washburn Island — hence her nickname. Manatees cannot survive when water temperatures dip below 68 degrees. On the day of her rescue, the water temperature in Falmouth was exactly 68 degrees.

Manatees' main habitat is Florida — nearly 1,400 miles south of Cape Cod — and they rarely travel so far north. Wildlife officials said Washburn decided to stay in Cape Cod waters to deliver her baby, but she would not have survived the frigid waters.

Washburn was spotted several times before rescuers finally tracked her down.

Washburn has been spending the last few weeks as the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut.

"We finally were able to rescue this wayward manatee from the cold water and provide it the care that it needs," said Katie Moore, program director for the International Fund For Animal Welfare, in a statement.

Moore thanked onlookers and local and federal officials for working together on the rescue in Falmouth last month.

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• Manatee Spotted in Cape Cod Waters
• Another Manatee Sighting Off Cape Cod
• Elusive Manatee Finally Rescued Off Cape Cod

Top photo credit: International Fund for Animal Welfare