Stranded manatee flown to balmy Miami for winter
By Tamara Lush and Wayne Parry - Associated Press
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The manatee, which rescuers named Ilya, left Atlantic City International Airport on a transport jet Thursday.
The Miami Seaquarium was his ultimate destination.
Ilya was pulled from a creek at the ConocoPhillips oil refinery in Linden and had been recuperating at the Marine Mammal Stranding Center.
Federal wildlife authorities kept the rescue a secret, fearing a crush of media and well-wishers could stress the manatee.
Ilya needed to be rescued because New Jersey's waters were too cold for him to survive for long. He's been migrating as far north as Massachusetts for the past decade, but dithered too long in New Jersey this year.
By late Thursday, Ilya was lounging in a balmy 81-degree (27 degrees Celsius) pool with a view of the Miami skyline, with all the lettuce he can eat — and even some female companionship.
Ilya was flown south aboard a Coast Guard C-130 cargo plane.
Associated Press writer Wayne Parry reported from Brigantine, New Jersey.
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