PHOTO COURTESY: Though rare, Mashpee’s recent sighting isn’t the first time. This photo taken of manatee in Saquatucket Harbor in Harwich Port as posted on former Harwich Harbormaster Tom Leach’s Facebook page in 2016, the last known time a manatee visited Cape Cod.
MASHPEE – The manatee recently spotted in Mashpee waters is likely very lost, according to local experts. The species prefers warmer waters and hasn’t been seen around Cape Cod in about ten years.
While local waters have been warming in recent years, Director of Marine Conservation and Education at Hyannis Whale Watcher Cruises Laura Lilly says that the manatee sighting is likely the result of one individual exploring beyond its usual home rather than a new permanent addition to the local ecosystem.
“They can come up the water way and find themselves in some unexpected place. Certainly not unexpected, but absolutely unusual. and a little bit concerning for that particular individual. It’s pretty far north for them to be doing well year-round, so we do have some concerns about that animal,” said Lilly.
“This particular animal is a little lost, a little strayed from its territory. We have seen some various animals come and go that are unexpected. For example, last year, we saw a grey whale in the Atlantic Ocean, and they have been extinct in the Atlantic for a long, long time. They are a species found in the Pacific Ocean.”
Lilly said the grey whale likely came over through the Arctic where ice had melted. Comparatively, she says a manatee is not all that unlikely.
With summer still in full swing, she advised boaters to be mindful around whales and other marine species, adding that Hyannis Whale Watcher Cruises spotted an injured whale likely hurt by propeller blades just this week.
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