WARWICK, R.I. (AP) – An endangered manatee made a rare appearance in Rhode Island waters during the weekend, environmental officials said.

The manatee was seen Sunday for several hours in Greenwich Bay off the coast of Warwick. The large marine mammals are usually found only in the warm waters of Florida and the Carolinas.

Judging from photographs, the animal appeared healthy and was even drinking from a freshwater runoff pipe at a marina, said April Valliere, a marine fisheries biologist for the Department of Environmental Management. The manatee was not spotted Monday.

“Apparently, they’re very curious animals,” she said. “They’ll travel up looking for food.”

It is not known whether the manatee is the same one seen earlier this month near Manhattan Island in New York. That manatee was tracked as it swam north along the coasts of Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey.

A manatee was last sighted in Rhode Island in 1995, when a male nicknamed Chessie appeared off Point Judith in Narragansett.

Jim Reid, a biologist for the U.S. Geological Survey, said his agency is investigating reports of a manatee spotted off Cape Cod in Massachusetts, but that report hasn’t been confirmed. Researchers are comparing photos to determine the manatee’s identity.

“We’re curious to see what the next moves will be,” Reid said.

Manatees eat salt marsh grass, algae and seaweed, Valliere said. Unusually warm water probably allowed this manatee to follow food sources so far north, she said.

It needs to leave before water temperatures drop below 68 degrees. Most of the Narragansett Bay was in the mid-70s this weekend, Valliere said.

Manatees are protected by the Endangered Species Act. Florida wildlife experts counted 3,116 in their annual survey in February.

The plant-eating animals are big – a half-ton or more – but harmless.