Who could resist this face?

We roll out of bed at 6:15AM to a cool foggy morning. It is time to go find the manatees.  These huge water dwelling relatives of the elephant spend cool winter nights in the relative warmth of natural springs that discharge into the Gulf.  Today we are kayaking to Three Sisters Spring that feeds into Kings Bay in Crystal River FL. Fog thickens as we approach the shoreline.  Once out on the water visibility is really poor.  As we silently paddle along the shrouded shore we are grateful that powerboats are all running no-wake speed throughout the bay.  We turn upstream toward the spring discharge and it isn’t long ‘til the fun begins.

Powerful strokes of their tails create smooth circles on the surface of the water and are the first signs that the manatee are swimming just below us. A snout appears and emits a big sneeze sort of sound as it exhales and takes in a breath before sinking back below the surface.  A huge form, easily ¾ the length of my kayak slides past me.  It is thrilling to be so close to them.  The actual headwaters of the spring are roped off today, waters are shallow and visibility poor so the protectors of the manatees keep the public out.  That’s ok though, in the main channel we come upon dozens, perhaps as many as 100 manatees resting and feeding.  They don’t seem to mind our kayaks or the dozen or so forms in wetsuits and snorkels floating among them.  We see mothers and calves and some elders that are actually as big as the kayaks.  The juveniles are the most curious and approach both kayaks and swimmers to check us out.

We enjoyed day one with the manatees so much that we get up early again and do it all over. It is a bit warmer, there is much less fog, and the spring water is clearer.  It should be another good manatee watching day.  We meet up with our first manatees of the day floating contentedly at Hunter’s Spring.  It is a fun find but we can’t resist returning to Three Sisters to hang out with the big crowd we saw yesterday.  Their numbers are fewer today but they make up for it in their activity and interest.  We have some great encounters and Kent gets some fun footage on his go-pro.

The manatees seem to be thriving here. Their numbers in Florida have rebounded from fewer than 500 to over 6000.  I hope the close encounters with people don’t disturb them too much.  We have tried kayaking and snorkeling among them; each is a marvelous encounter with one of natures amazing creatures.

How could I forget, we saw Manny the Manatee too. I guess he is sort of the mascot of the Three Sisters Spring area.  I bet the guy in that costume is glad that manatee only congregate here in the winter…so he isn’t out here in that getup when it is 100+ and sticky humid.