Crystal River
had provided very interesting swims, and I especially enjoyed
the Three Sisters Springs and the Main Spring - but we headed
back to Homosassa Springs for our last two days of diving.
By Saturday the temperature had dropped to around 45 degrees
at night, drawing more and more manatees into the warm water
springs. Saturday morning we left early, a half-hour before
daybreak, and made our way through the think fog to the
springs area we had been to several times before.
This time there was a BIG difference - there were at least 10-20
manatees in the springs area, practically all over the place,
and we knew it was going to be a great day of swimming.
We quietly entered the water, a few people at a time. The
ghostly fog still hung over the warm water, and provided
a "sauna-like" atmosphere to the quite water.
In the distance the explosive exhale and inhale of manatees
breathing could be heard through the quiet fog.
It didn't take long to get noticed by the manatees - I swam
off away from the group that was engaging a few playful
manatees around our boats - and headed further upstream
to where the water was less disturbed. I came across a single
manatee, swimming toward me as if to meet me half way.
It's awesome to see a 10-foot long, 3-foot
wide animal gliding directly for you - it can be kind of
intimidating for a moment. But that feeling doesn't last
long once you see it's whiskery mug and heavy fat lips.
They really are goofy looking animals - like I said earlier,
some of them remind me of my beloved Sharpeii, Roscoe.
This was the encounter I was waiting for - I felt accepted
by the animal and knew that the animal was interested in
making contact - or else he wouldn't have approached me.
I started scratching his back, just behind his head - where
a neck would be, if he had a neck. He seemed to like this
very much and moved a little closer to me so I could scratch
a little farther.
I noticed his eye was riveted on me, the
whites showing near the front, as he strained to almost
look behind him, where I was. I also noticed a few small
propeller scars on his back, and one long scratch along
his side, which didn't look worse than a scratch, and looked
like he had rubbed up against something sharp himself. These
marks would help me later to identify this animal again.
I continued to scratch along his back, then moved down his
side, so I could start scratching his belly. Once again
he met me half way by slowly rolling his huge body over
on it's side, exposing his lighter colored underside.
Where the top of the manatee was very rough and firm, the
bottom seemed "softer" and more jiggly. His skin
would move more freely under the pressure of my fingertips.
It seemed "looser" than the tougher skin on the
top and sides.
I started to scratch just behind his front
"flipper" - where you could say his armpit would
be. I got quite a response from the manatee - and I'd almost
have to swear it was tickling him. His body shook a little,
and his flippers went a little crazy, moving back and forth
and circling - and after a few seconds he actually used
his other flipper to push my hand away. I looked at his
upside down face, and - to me - it looked like he was smiling.
It was very weird. I know I was smiling.
After scratching him for about 10 minutes, and being nuzzled
by him a few times, the manatee began to leave. Not very
quickly, but I could tell he was heading off. Our guide
from the day before, Bill (From Bird's
Underwater), had told us that if you remain still and
don't try to follow, they will usually come back in a few
minutes.
Well, he was right - the manatee swam off about 20 yards,
turned around and looked at me for a moment, then came gliding
back over to be scratched some more. He repeated this several
time, swimming off after 10 minutes or so, checking to see
if I was giving him his space, then returning to get scratched
some more.
There was a point where he swam off and
I didn't see him for a while. He had headed back toward
the boats to a distance where I couldn't see him any longer.
I decided to hold tight where I was, and waited.
A few minutes later a pair of young manatees came swimming
up. One came from behind and I didn't even know she was
there until she nudged into my side as she slowly swam up.
I had to abandon my camera, as I had both scratchers going
at the same time - one on the backs of each animal. (It
is illegal to use two hands on a manatee - it is considered
riding the manatee - and you will be fined or arrested for
it. See MANATEE RULES
for more information.)
I had my hands full - literally - then I noticed 3 more
animals slinking on over to me. I think "the word"
had gotten out that I had some good scratching going on,
and they came to check me out. It was so crowded for a few
minutes that the manatees were nudging each other out of
the way, trying to get closer. I did the best I could to
keep everyone happy. I was having a blast.
A few must have decided that I wasn't all I was cracked
up to be, or they just thought they could get the same somewhere
else without the traffic - and I was left with two interested
individuals again. I noticed one of these that stayed was
the same one as earlier - the long scratch on his side gave
him away.
The other must have thought my kneecap looked tasty - I
was wearing a shorty-style wet suit, and the hairs on my
legs were floating around in the currents - maybe they looked
like scrawny sea grass.
Well, this young manatee wanted to check it out, and grabbed
my knee in it's mouth. I can tell you, it didn't hurt -
but it didn't tickle either. Manatee lips are very strong
- and are rough on the inside. They use their lips to pull
food in toward their mouth, which sit back several inches
from their lips.
Their lips are very
agile, and can move to grip or pull. This one had a good
grip on my knee for a second, until I brushed it away. Then
he went to do the same thing to the tips of my rubber fins,
which I let him do for a few minutes - until his mother
(I assume) squealed disapprovingly and quickly nudged the
youngster away from me (shooting me a dirty look from it's
eye closest to me).
The rest of the day went by with a lot less commotion. I
had several other rewarding encounters with different manatees,
and my old friend with the scratch came back to see me once
or twice.
Our last day in Florida was spent on the river again - first
thing in the morning. This day I wanted to take as many
underwater photographs as I could - I had borrowed an underwater
camera from a friend who left a few days earlier. Again
I went off to where the water was less stirred-up, and waited.
Again the animals came to me to see what I was sitting around
waiting for. I took 6 rolls of film that day (I would have
taken more, but hated to get out of the water to reload
the camera).
George noticed some different kind of action
going on over near some downed palm trees that were in the
water. The manatees were scratching and rolling around them,
playing, and stirring up a lot of sediment. Some swimmers
came over to check things out, and they were nudged, rubbed
against, and even lifted out of the water by the fun-loving
manatees. This went on for several hours, until the manatees
seemed tired, and all went to sleep - in a three-point face-plant
on the bottom of the river.
One other thing I saw that day was a guy actually grab a
young manatee by two flippers, and try to maneuver the animal
in the direction of his buddy, who was busy trying to film
with an underwater video camera, despite all the sediment
he was stirring up by floundering around without fins.
Besides the few idiots who don't know what they're doing,
everyone else came away from this experience smiling, laughing
- with memories that will not fade for some time.
There is an argument among some experts as to whether or
not people should interact with manatees as closely as we
did during our trip. The Save The Manatee Club™ is
against any actual contact, as it seems it would make manatees
lose their natural fear of man, and make them more susceptible
to injury from boats or malicious people who like to hurt
wild animals (like carving their initials into their skin
- it's happened before).
But then there are
all the rest of the people, who feel supervised contact
between man and manatee on this level creates a greater
awareness and a stronger commitment to push to protect this
endangered animal among those who have actually "met"
them before. I have to agree with this line of reason, as
my own experience has made me into a "Manatee Cheerleader"
who has spent the last week creating this website to help
spread awareness - and to give my visitors a greater appreciation
for this animal through my stories and pictures, even though
you may not get the chance yourself to swim with these gentle
giants.
But the good news is, that if you do decide you want to
swim with the manatees, you will probably have your chance.
Efforts to protect and preserve the manatee seem to be working
- or at least holding steady. With continued conservation,
active management and rescue and rehabilitation programs
- hopefully your children's children will also have a chance
to see manatees in the wild - and get to meet one like I
did.
Crystal River
had provided very interesting swims, and I especially enjoyed
the Three Sisters Springs and the Main Spring - but we headed
back to Homosassa Springs for our last two days of diving.
This time there was a BIG difference - there were at least 10-20
manatees in the springs area, practically all over the place,
and we knew it was going to be a great day of swimming.
It's awesome to see a 10-foot long, 3-foot
wide animal gliding directly for you - it can be kind of
intimidating for a moment. But that feeling doesn't last
long once you see it's whiskery mug and heavy fat lips.
They really are goofy looking animals - like I said earlier,
some of them remind me of my beloved Sharpeii, Roscoe.
I noticed his eye was riveted on me, the
whites showing near the front, as he strained to almost
look behind him, where I was. I also noticed a few small
propeller scars on his back, and one long scratch along
his side, which didn't look worse than a scratch, and looked
like he had rubbed up against something sharp himself. These
marks would help me later to identify this animal again.
I started to scratch just behind his front
"flipper" - where you could say his armpit would
be. I got quite a response from the manatee - and I'd almost
have to swear it was tickling him. His body shook a little,
and his flippers went a little crazy, moving back and forth
and circling - and after a few seconds he actually used
his other flipper to push my hand away. I looked at his
upside down face, and - to me - it looked like he was smiling.
It was very weird. I know I was smiling.
There was a point where he swam off and
I didn't see him for a while. He had headed back toward
the boats to a distance where I couldn't see him any longer.
I decided to hold tight where I was, and waited.
Their lips are very
agile, and can move to grip or pull. This one had a good
grip on my knee for a second, until I brushed it away. Then
he went to do the same thing to the tips of my rubber fins,
which I let him do for a few minutes - until his mother
(I assume) squealed disapprovingly and quickly nudged the
youngster away from me (shooting me a dirty look from it's
eye closest to me).
George noticed some different kind of action
going on over near some downed palm trees that were in the
water. The manatees were scratching and rolling around them,
playing, and stirring up a lot of sediment. Some swimmers
came over to check things out, and they were nudged, rubbed
against, and even lifted out of the water by the fun-loving
manatees. This went on for several hours, until the manatees
seemed tired, and all went to sleep - in a three-point face-plant
on the bottom of the river.
But then there are
all the rest of the people, who feel supervised contact
between man and manatee on this level creates a greater
awareness and a stronger commitment to push to protect this
endangered animal among those who have actually "met"
them before. I have to agree with this line of reason, as
my own experience has made me into a "Manatee Cheerleader"
who has spent the last week creating this website to help
spread awareness - and to give my visitors a greater appreciation
for this animal through my stories and pictures, even though
you may not get the chance yourself to swim with these gentle
giants.
