Visiting Manatees

In Apollo Beach FL, a bit SE of Tampa, there is a power plant which puts out a large volume of warm water as a waste product. During cool weather large numbers of manatees gather in the output area to keep warm. A few years ago we went to the visitors area and observed manatees floating in the output area; my wife Kathy observed that it looked like a bunch of unpeeled sweet potatos floating in a big pot. An interesting experience but not very informative about what a manatee is like.

There are many fresh-water springs in Florida, and the temperature of the spring water is generally about 75 degrees F. Where there is access to these springs from the ocean, manatees gather at them to keep warm during cool weather. On January 11, 2014 Kathy and I went on a snorkel trip at the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge to visit manatees at one of these springs. At the time of our visit there were no manatees at the surface, they were resting on the bottom in 4-8 feet of water. Although their skin is brown, with the blue filtering of the water they look pretty much like large grey rounded rocks from a distance. We swan up a short stream to the spring wearing wetsuits, masks, and snorkels and using a swimming "noodle" for buoyancy. Visitors are not permitted to swim over, touch, persue, or surround the manatees, and in the narrow stream it was difficult at times to avoid touching or swimming over the continuous manatee traffic also using the stream. At the spring, visitors and manatees could spread out a bit.

Although most of the manatees were resting on the bottom, they would occasionally rise to the surface to breath. Often they didn't appear to be moving a muscle to accomplish this - merely controlling their buoyancy to rise and sink by some mechanism I don't understand. When resting on the bottom their snouts seemed to be buried in the sand, as though their whiskers were turned into roots. When they floated up to breathe, only their nostrils broke the surface. Many of the manatees carried visible evidence of encounters with propellers and othe boat parts - pieces of their tails missing or cuts in their broad backs.

There was an exception to the "no touching the manatees" rule; if a manatee approached and deliberately touched you first, you could touch back. One youngster swam over to me and nuzzled my dangling hand, so I scratched it. The skin was like heavy leather, with lots of surface irregularities. When I scratched it clouds of "dust" filled the water. I wouldn't be surprized if there was algae growing on the skin, but perhaps it was only a coating of dirt. The manatee didn't seem interested in my touch positively or negatively, and eventually swam away.

I have heard that manatees are believed to have given rise to the legends of mermaids. If this is true I can't imagine why. Manatees are fascinating creatures, but their ungainly appearance seems to me extremely remote from suggesting a creature half woman and half fish. I know that sailors were at sea for many months at a time, but even so ...

The photos were taken with a low-quality disposable camera. Only one is good quality; the rest are fair at best.