Marine experts say the possible sighting of a manatee in Pembrokeshire waters is further evidence of climate change.

The creature was spotted by Carol Morgan who has a bird’s eye view of Hobbs Point, Pembroke Dock, from her home at 5 Connaught Way.

She was preparing her lunchbox early one morning when she saw an unusual shape in the water. At first she thought it was a very large plastic container covered in green algae. But when it moved she reached for a telescope to get a closer look.

“I caught sight of its face and it looked like a pot-bellied pig,” said Carol, who works at Pembroke Leisure Centre.

“It then pulled itself onto the slipway and seemed to be foraging for something. After a short while it sauntered into the water and that was the last I saw of it.”

She only became aware of the actual size of the creature when she saw a couple walking a dog on the slipway a few moments later.

“It was several times larger than that dog, more like the size of a small cow,” said Carol.

Manatees, or sea cows as they are also known, are largely restricted to tropical waters with the nearest populations to the UK found off west Africa and the Caribbean. Pembrokeshire-based marine biologist, Francis Bunker, says it is possible that the manatee was carried here on the Gulf Stream currents. “We do after all get tropical sea beans and the occasional coconut washed up as well as sea turtles from the Caribbean, so why not a manatee? If it is a manatee I think it could be a first for UK waters.”

To his knowledge there are none in captivity in the UK which could have escaped.

Bathers need have no worries about venturing in the sea, as manatees are strictly herbivorous, feeding mainly on seagrasses.