Recently, the entire SDP team visited Blue Spring State Park in Florida. The St. Johns River runs through the park and during the colder, winter months the constant 73 degree water flowing from Blue Spring attracts manatees. Knowing this, we visited the park on a chilly afternoon on the hunt for manatees. We were not disappointed! The day we were there 380+ had been counted by park rangers and volunteers. Manatees as far as the eye could see! And, these manatees were quite active and playful. Not sure if it was because of the flow of the spring water, but I've never seen manatees so animated! The one pictured was underwater playing with a downed tree limb. (I especially like his little white toenails.) Manatees can weigh up to 1,000 pounds and eat 10-15% of their weight everyday in vegetation. These big, lovable sea cows don't have any natural enemies -- just boaters that might not see them, which is why manatee zones are prevalent in Florida, requiring boaters to slow down. Great visit -- the SDP team definitely will return!
9 comments:
How wonderful!!
What an incredible sight that must have been SRQ, they are rather odd looking creatures ☺
What a wonderful animal!
We were at Manatee Springs a few years ago and there were many manatees there, also. They are such fun animals but some of the kids tried to ride them and that was a little dangerous.
Awesome! They are fun to see.
That's amazing - 380+ manatees! I'd be excited to see even one. This is a great shot, toenails and all.
I sounds like you had a wonderful time watching the manatees! How thrilling it must have been!! It must have been hard to use the camera instead of watching the playful animals, but you got a good photo!
Manatees are always fun to see. One of my favorite animals!
That's awesome! I've never seen one except on TV.
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