Manatees are also known as sea cows, but these amphibious bovines were apparently moo-atees.
Three cows that had been swept out to sea when Hurricane Dorian hit North Carolina on Sept. 6 were found alive.
The animals' caretaker, Woody Handcock, identified the cows as part of a herd of livestock that grazes on Cedar Island, the Times reported.
The cows apparently swam from Cedar Island to Cape Lookout National Seashore park on the Outer Banks, The New York Times reported.
They had been swept away, along with horses, by a water surge.
Handcock believed most of the animals he cared for were dead. Shortly after the hurricane, only 28 of the 49 horses that lived on Cedar Island were found with 21 alive, the rest were killed. Those unaccounted for were also presumed dead, according to the Carteret County News-Times.
The cattle were also presumed dead after they found the carcass of one bovine, the Carteret County News-Times reported at the time.
Hancock told the newspaper the storm came in too quickly and the animals couldn't get to higher ground.
Officials now are trying to figure out the best way to get the cows back home with a plan to sedate them and load them on a boat back to Cedar Island, CBS News reported.