Animal rescue team captures wayward manatee off Cape Cod

An animal rescue team has captured a manatee that repeatedly had been spotted off Cape Cod, far from its usual Florida haunts.

Rescuers with the International Fund for Animal Welfare netted the 8-foot-long animal off Washburn Island near Falmouth, Massachusetts.

IFAW spokeswoman Kerry Branon says experts planned to evaluate the manatee's health before bringing the mammal to Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut.

Fishermen had spotted the creature on numerous occasions since mid-August. A tip led rescuers to it Thursday.

Yarmouth Port-based IFAW had appealed to the public to help it locate the manatee. The animals fare poorly in temperatures below 68 degrees, and the waters off Cape Cod have been cooling with the advent of autumn.

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