SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Wildlife officials in Puerto Rico plan to relocate a male manatee who escaped from a rehabilitation area during a hurricane.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman Lilibeth Serrano says biologists are tracking the mammal along the island’s north coast.
The manatee was stranded as a young calf in 2005 and dubbed “Tuque” for the south coast beach where he was found. He was being rehabilitated in the north in semi-captivity to get him used to the wild, but escaped during Hurricane Earl last year.