August 30, 2016 — To the thousands upon thousands of seals that populate isolated beaches, and the frenzy of great white sharks that have frightened swimmers, now add another creature of the sea: an oddly graceful, roughly 8-foot-long manatee that has probably arrived from Florida to join the throngs of tourists enjoying the warm waters off Cape Cod.
Since mid-August, wildlife experts have documented at least a half-dozen sightings of the transient manatee they believe slowly swam up the East Coast to feed on local vegetation.
He or she still appears intent on taking in popular spots along the Cape, like any vacationer. The issue it faces is one of time: When the water temperatures drop, its chances of survival do, too.
Bill Pouliot and his son, Brayden, saw the wayward manatee while fishing on Bridge Street in Chatham Sunday. When the buoyant gray object came into view, they couldn’t believe its size.
“It was gi-normous,” said the elder Pouliot, mashing together the words “giant” and “enormous” to best describe the girth of the unexpected guest.
At first, both father and son thought the rotund animal spotted foraging on sea grass was a seal that wandered off from its beachy haunts.
But as they further examined the marine creature lazily floating nearby, they concluded it was something else entirely.
“It was just sort of going down to the bottom to eat, and then coming back up, perhaps sunbathing,” Pouliot said.