Manatee Spotted Off New England Coast For The First Time in Years

With summer in full swing throughout New England, there's been plenty of attention given to marine life in the area. Specifically, sharks.

There have been dozens of white shark sightings from Maine through Massachusetts this summer. While those have grabbed the headlines, there's another marine creature that has found their way to the area in a pretty rare occurrence.

According to NBCBoston, several people have encountered a manatee off the coast of Cape Cod in the past couple of weeks.

A manatee making its way into New England waters is a rarity. It hasn't happened in Massachusetts in nearly a decade. A quick Google search reveals no documented instances of manatees making their way into the ocean off of Maine's coast.

The gentle 'sea cow' likely found its way up the east coast thanks to the gulf stream which would have provided the manatee the warm water necessary to continue thriving.

But as the summer in New England winds down, the manatee will either need to find its own path down south or humans will need to assist. Otherwise, the endangered mammal won't make it.