Wandering Manatee Comes Home

 MIAMI (AP) - Ilya the wayward manatee has arrived at his new
home in Florida after being rescued from murky waters near a New
Jersey oil refinery.
      Ilya left Atlantic City International Airport on a transport jet
Thursday. 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 are 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 the
Garden State this year.
     
      (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)