On a super cold wintery autumn day in November (yes! I really am that far behind on my blogging right now) two adventurous Australians found themselves on a small boat on the Homosassa Springs in Homosassa, Florida in thick wet suits preparing to dip themselves in the warm (75F, 24C) natural spring water in order to do something that you can do in only two places in the entire world... meet one of the most amazingly gentle and curious sea animals in the world face to face in their habitat... Swim with the West Indian Manatee
My first glimpse of a manatee from the boat
Words cant even begin to describe how amazing this experience truly was... from the first moment we jumped into that warm but still frigid (to me and my cold blood) water and waited for the first manatee to approach us... and approach us they did!! Being one of only two places in the world that actually allow humans to interact with wild manatees there is a very strict code of conduct that binds each swimmer to ensure protection of these curious and gentle animals
Hello there little guy!!
While in the water you may not approach the manatee, they must be the ones that initiate any contact/interaction, you may only touch the manatee with an open hand, you must not grab the manatee, ride the manatee, or inhibit their departure nor may you chase them.. and at not time can you separate a baby/juvenile from its mother. Any and all interactions must be the decision of the manatee... with all of these rules in place we really wondered if we would be lucky enough to interact with a manatee... we shouldn't of worried....
Manatees LOVE people... They sought us out, swam straight up to us and then proceeded to almost demand back scratches... and if you where seriously lucky, and the manatee really felt comfortable you would even be presented with a yummy, blubbery manatee belly for some scratching!! It was awesome! I had this little guy follow me around the spring for 15-20 minutes... constantly swimming up to me and looking at me with his intelligent elephanty eye... and presenting his back and belly for scratching.
And the best thing (at least to this, slightly tree hugger animal loving hippy)... the interactions, if managed and limited are actually good for the manatee... and least from a scratching capacity.. you see all this human scratching actually dislodges nasty algae that becomes trapped on their skin... its manatee maintenance!! Oh and they love chewing on boat ropes... kinda like dental floss.. they wouldn't leave the moorings alone!!
Chew, Chew, Chew
Words cannot describe this once in a life time opportunity... I have a new found respect for this animal and could not believe how amazingly gentle, curious and beautifully strange the manatee is. I think I have found a new favourite animal and I feel so lucky the manatees of Crystal River and Homosassa Spring gave me the experience that I enjoyed... WOW!!
