The Cryptid Zoo: Helena Manatee

St. Helena is a tiny island that lies about halfway between South America and Africa. St. Helena was once home to a mystery animal that was never satisfactorily identified by science, and probably never will be since the animal seems to be extinct today. This island was supposed to be swarming with manatees in the early days of colonization. These manatees were different than the kind that inhabit Africa, South America, the Caribbean Sea and the eastern coast of North America. These manatees frequently hauled themselves out of the water like seals, a feat that no manatee is supposed to be able to do. If this is true and these creatures really were manatees, then they would have been a new species, perhaps an ancestral form to modern manatees.

You can find out more about the Helena Manatee from the following sources:

Newton, Michael. Encyclopedia of Cryptozoology: A Global Guide to Hidden Animals and Their Pursuers. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2005. Page 406

Shuker, Karl. The Beasts That Hide From Man: Seeking the World's Last Undiscovered Animals. New York: Paraview Press, 2003. Pages 133-140