A resident was in shock when a manatee was spotted in the water outside her home this week.

Charlotte Bosch de Noya said she had just returned home when her daughter raised an alarm about the mammal.

“I was a bit incredulous so immediately sent the video to a friend who works at the aquarium who confirmed that that was definitely what it seemed to be,” Ms Bosch de Noya said.

Her friend diverted their boat which was out in Harrington Sound towards the family’s house.

“We kept watch until the boats arrived but it swam off to the east and we haven't seen it since,” she said.

She said fishermen related that there had been another sighting of the mammal in Castle Harbour recently.

“I’m so incredibly curious how it ended up here safely and worried about its wellbeing,” Ms Bosch de Noya told The Royal Gazette.

Since she reported it to the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo, search teams have been scouring the area for the mammal.

“I am hoping any members of the public who see it call them immediately so they can find and assist it,” Ms Bosch de Noya said.

Two separate videos appeared to show a manatee were posted on Thursday on Facebook.

The recordings were acknowledged by the Bermuda Zoological Society and BAMZ.

Both groups said they were “aware of a video circulating showing what appears to be a manatee in Bermuda waters”.

A joint statement added: “Our wildlife team is working to verify the sighting and is co-ordinating with relevant marine mammal experts to determine the best path forward for the animal’s welfare if the sighting is confirmed.”

Anyone potentially sighting the animal was asked to report the sighting “immediately, including the specific location, so our team can locate and monitor the animal and help protect it from marine traffic”.

The BAMZ wildlife recovery team can be reached on 293-2727, extension 999, while the contact for Bermuda Maritime Operations is 297-1010.

In the event of an encounter, the community was warned to keep “a safe and respectful distance”.

“Do not attempt to touch, feed or otherwise interact with the animal,” the statement said, advising people to remain calm and move “slowly and predictably near by — manatees are slow-moving, air-breathing mammals and need space to surface undisturbed”.

The groups also called for alerting any boaters near by to “slow down and watch for the animal in the area”.

“BZS and BAMZ thank the public for their vigilance and co-operation in helping ensure the safety of this visiting animal.”

Andrew Stevenson, of Whales Bermuda, said although the mammal was not in his area of expertise, he believes the manatee could have made its way to Bermuda’s waters from Florida, the Caribbean or as far as South America.

“It is really incredible how it got here … it is extraordinary but it would be interesting to know how long it stays here,” he said, adding that the mammal would have to brace for the cold Gulf Stream conditions.

Mr Stevenson is a member of the Caribbean Marine Mammals Preservation Network, and yesterday, information on Tico — a West Indian manatee that swam more than 2,500 miles for 62 days from Brazil along the Atlantic coast to Trinidad & Tobago in 2022 — was shared to the group.

The mammal, which had just been tagged before release, was rescued by Venezuelan biodiversity authorities who tracked its journey via GPS.

“To draw a parallel to the manatee spotted here, it’s incredible how the mammals make their way across bodies of water,” Mr Stevenson said.

Florida manatees are known to head to northern waters, sometimes even as far as Massachusetts, during the summer months.

Antillean manatees travel from northern Mexico down to Brazil; Amazon manatees only live in freshwater; and West African manatees are found in the region from which they take their name.