DENNIS, Mass. -- A wayward manatee is headed south after being pulled from frigid waters off Cape Cod in an early-morning rescue.

The juvenile male manatee wandered into Sesuit Harbor in Dennis this week. Wildlife officials decided to pull him out Saturday amid concerns about his health in the frigid Cape waters.

Manatees are normally found off Florida and Georgia. They stop feeding if they get too cold.

Chris Cutter of the International Fund for Animal Welfare said boats on both sides of the animal trapped him in a net and hoisted him onto a barge. He was then moved by forklift to a truck as dozens of onlookers clapped.

Workers will keep the manatee wet during the 20-hour drive to Sea World in Orlando. Once he's rehabilitated there, he'll be released into the wild.

Join the discussion

Note: If this is your first time using our NEW commenting system, you will have to LOG OUT and then LOG BACK IN.

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.CommentBody@

@Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@