After his debut last week, Ilya the Floridian manatee seems to have taken a liking to the Susquehanna River and has recently made appearances on the shores of both Cecil and Harford County.
A Perryville Town Commissioner snapped photos of the wayward sea cow last Wednesday and a group of Havre de Gracians greeted the manatee with cameras and open arms Sunday afternoon when it surfaced near some condominiums.
Officials from the National Aquarium in Baltimore continue to monitor the manatee’s movements and urge people to take precautions to keep themselves and Ilya safe.
Photos courtesy of Chris Brzys, John Cole, and Gary Tennis.
The National Aquarium has confirmed another sighting of manatee “Ilya”, reported yesterday in Perryville by Town Commissioner Gary Tennis. The animals appears to be moving freely between the top of the Bay and the Susquehanna River.
Attached are pictures taken by Commissioner Tennis, along with a map.
The Aquarium and the Coast Guard will continue to keep tabs on the animal to ensure its safety and monitor its movements. The Aquarium reminds local boaters and others at play around the Bay to be aware that the animal is still in the vicinity, and to use common sense practices to keep themselves and the manatee safe. Sightings should be reported to the Maryland Natural Resources Police Stranding Hotline: 1-800-628-9944.
Some people think that no one should touch a manatee. They say that any interaction with manatees will make them less wild. If you touch a manatee it will not be scared of people and that may endanger manatees survival. Tame manatees also may swim to boats instead of avoiding them.
Ilya? Where did that name come from? It sure doesn’t look like an Ilya to me. It looks more like a Manny.
Last week it was a He
This week a She.
Either way he/she is so ugly it’s actually cute.
Just a guess. A popular TV show in the sixties was “Man from U.N.C.L.E.”, a show about espionage. One of the characters, played by David McCallum, was Ilya Kuryakin. Ilya, the Manatee from UNCLE?
JD: One of the most interesting things about a manatee is it’s absolute naivety. It appears to have no malice, and does not feel threatened by humans.
I have sat on boats in Florida and watched manatees come to the boat, presumably for some sort of social interaction. They demonstrate many tendancies similar to a dolphin.
They are slow moving mammals, and frequent waters of 10′ depth or less, and feed off the grasses. This naturally brings them into close contact with humans regularly, and they demonstrate a natural curiosity, again similar to a dolphin.
Ilya is a known MALE manatee, historically only sighted in the Miami Florida area.
According to the USGS Sirenia Project, Ilya is a male.
I want to ride on its back! I cant wait to get the pictures
Ilya is the name given to the manatee when the US Geological Survey started tracking him 16 years ago.
It is Russian for Elijah
Ummm…A Russian manatee. Well, that ‘splains’ everything. Thanks 🙂
what’s the old manatee up to these days?…anyone spotted the critter?…maybe just didn’t like the area and turned around and headed south …
just curious
This could be bad news for Ilya.
The manatee, which was sighted numerous times on both the Harford and Cecil sides of the Susquehanna River this summer, is now apparently stranded in New Jersey.
A rescue attempt is planned to get the sea cow out of the cold water and back on its way home:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation-world/bal-manatee1016,0,2703179.story
Maybe she was sent down from Jersy to check out Harford County for the BRAC people and has to go file a report.
she has been rescued and has made her way by plane back to miami, florida. the manatee made national news this morning.