Manatee rescued off N.J. spotted in Biscayne Bay

MIAMI - Ilya, the wayward manatee rescued last year from a small waterway near Linden, N.J., has been spotted in Biscayne Bay in South Florida.

He was identified by a scar on his head and notches on his tail, biologists at the U.S. Geological Survey said Thursday. These markings match his record in a database maintained to research the manatee population.

Last year, Ilya was found huddling near an outfall pipe at a refinery to stay warm. The water was 53 degrees - below the 68 degrees manatees need to survive. He was flown to Florida aboard a Coast Guard C-130 cargo plane.

Ilya in recent years has migrated in the summer to Massachusetts. - AP