 Manatee (not Ilya) in Titusville, FL,Courtesy of Dave’s Digits ArtWithRays.
The last time anyone saw Ilya the manatee on Sept. 25, he was hanging around the docks of Milford, CT, (the middle of the state’s coast) presumably headed towards New York City and then the warm water he needs in Florida. I got to write a fun story about Ilya for New York Magazine and to talk to a bunch of manatee rescuers, identifiers and caretakers along the way.
Ilya may have already passed New York since Milford is only 60-some miles away. Manatees normally only swim about 3 mph–aside from short burst of up to 20 mph–and they sleep half the day.
If Ilya turns out to be hanging out in New England still, he’s in trouble. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service might try to rescue him if he lingers. Last year they tried to save Dennis the manatee from Dennis, MA, by trucking him 27 hours to Florida in the back of a rental truck, surrounded by a heating blanket and medical care. He died, but Nicole Adimey, who runs the USFWS rescue program, says that he was in bad shape to start; they can truck manatees around the country. “They’re pretty resiilent animals, actually,” she says. They would’ve grabbed him sooner if he stayed in one place. Terry Clen, the Dennis harbor master, says Adimey instructed him to do what is normally forbidden with manatees: give him a hose to keep him happy and
Keep reading Ilya the Manatee Last Seen Headed Towards New York City
 Picking out a whale-friendly East Coast whale watch just got a little easier. NOAA and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society just started Whale Sense, a voluntary program to ensure tours from Virginia to Maine don’t bother whales.
The rules are complicated–more than just stay back 100 feet, though that is the basic distance. (If the whale approaches you, stay put. If it’s a right whale, back off 1,500 feet.) What I found more amusing were the rules against advertising showing whale watchers touching, swimming with or even chasing the whales. Is Jerry Bruckheimer running a watch somewhere?
So far the group has signed up five companies, mainly in Massachusetts. I count at least 30 tour companies from Virginia to Maine, with 18 going to Stellwagen Bank–not included the odd charters that line the whole coast. So what about the ones not on the list?
Even Frank Kelley, operations manager for Mass Bay Lines (listed) says that right now the program is so new that you can’t judge an operation for not participating. Lots of the tours work with other whale groups. For example, Bar Harbor Whale Watch Company is tied to Allied Whale. The New England Aquarium’s whale watch, which I just went on, isn’t part of the program yet (they’re still examining the details), says spokesman Tony LaCasse. But since they already do most of it and they helped push voluntary standards decades ago, they’ll probably be part of it.
When you’re out on Stellwagen it’s not
Keep reading An Easier Way to Find a Good Whale Watch on the East Coast?
 Turkey Vultures Invade NJ TownA flock of turkey vultures, 75 strong, has invaded Florence, NJ, just south of Trenton. These are the big, bald-headed birds that first excite casual birders with their size, then disappoint with their gangly, common appearance. Doesn’t help that they’re smelly, eat carrion and creepily lurk in flocks on trees.No one is sure what drew the birds to Florence, but the town is working to persuade them to leave. Suprisingly, they are bothering with the dispersal methods that have long frustrated subarban gardeners: metallic ribbon and beach balls with big eyes. According to the AP, they’ve hung effigies of dead birds. It’s NJ, so eventually they’ll just hunt them.
Where to See the Odd BirdSee More Animals in the Northeast
To see more animals go to animaltourism.com
 BOBOLINK DAIRY, Vernon, NJWe went out this weekend to the Bobolink Dairy. Wonderful cheese, friendly people, amazing place.You know how there are tons of places that claim to be farm stores, but really just slap their label on the same schlocky jams and flavored peppermint sticks that have been mass produced somewhere else? Boy, that’s not the case here. It’s a muddy old farm where they know the cows by name. Minutes before we got there, a calf was born.Jolly got into a scuffle with the farm dog and had to wait in the car. But had more fun when we went hiking on the Appalachian Trail nearby.
Where to See Neat Animals in the Northeast
To see more animals go to animaltourism.com
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