A polar vortex that has hit much of the U.S. with ice and snow has dealt a glancing blow to Florida and its manatee population.

According to an Associated Press report, the manatees are amassing around Florida Power & Light Company’s plant in Riviera Beach, where the company opened the manatee-focused attraction Manatee Lagoon eight years ago. Thus, the manatees are finding some salvation during a chilly spell in the Sunshine State.

The first manatee ever rescued in North Carolina was released back into the wild Thursday after spending a few weeks recovering at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida. The manatee had been found by biologists lethargic and malnourished in mid-November in a drainage canal, likely attracted by the ditch's warmish waters, off the Tar River near Greenville.

A manatee that captured hearts after being rescued from a canal in Greenville last fall has returned to the wild. Nicknamed "Pamlico," the manatee was released Thursday at Tampa Electric’s Big Bend Power Station in Apollo Beach,