The Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus) was once rare and endangered. Today they are making a come back but boat propellers and red tide continue to take their toll. Manatee range from here to the west Indies. Their closet relative today is the elephant. They are herbivores and munch on an assortment of marine vegetation. Manatee can weigh 2,000 pounds. They are very friendly and inquisitive animals often coming up to paddlers and rubbing their back on kayaks. I have seen them come up to a paddler with his hand in the water and nuzzle the paddlers hand with their snout. The only real threat is if you scare them. Like a horse or a cow you dont want to be in the way if they stampede. Another common mistake paddlers make around manatee is to lean over the side of the boat and/or get too close to a manatees tail as they are diving. The tail (fluke) can some times flip you if your too close. It is illegal to chase, harass, feed, or otherwise alter their natural habits. But if you just sit still they will come to you and check you out. We have been seeing a lot of manatee on the Imperial River lately. In the winter months you can see them in the rivers of Charlotte, Lee, and Collier Counties. Once the Gulf and bay temperatures fall below 70 degrees the manatee start heading up the rivers. Rivers/springs in southwest Florida come out of the ground at around 72 degrees. So the manatee head for the warmer water in the winter months. You can sometimes see them along the edges of the river with just their head out of water chewing at the vegetation at the rivers edge. For more info about manatee go to - myfwc/research/manatee/
Posted on: Sat, 20 Dec 2014 20:00:32 +0000
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