Manatees - Sustainable Saturday #AtoZChallenge #blogboost

What can be more exciting than sightings of a rare, gentle creature?

The manatee is a slow moving mammal found in Florida. It is also known as the "sea cow" although it is more closely related to the elephant.

Living in water, they can hold their breaths for up to 20 minutes.  They are plant eaters, and can eat up to 10% of their body weight in plant matter each day.

The West Indian manatee, along with two other manatee species, was endangered at one time, but in the last 18 months or so has been "upgraded" to threatened.   Here are some fun facts about manatees. Their only real enemy in the wild is man.

January 2018

If you visit Florida during the winter, you may get to see these gentle creatures close up in Florida's crystal clear waters.  One of their congregating spots is Blue Springs State Park, near Orlando.  We went there early one morning to see the manatees swimming in the St. Johns River.

They can be run over by boats - manatees are no match for boaters.  In fact, the other day I was watching a rerun of the show Jeopardy and the champion that day was the man who helped write the "no wake" law in Florida.  This law is necessary - over the years, enough manatees have been injured or killed in collisions with boats.

Humans in Florida have finally woken up to the importance of saving the manatee. In fact, during manatee season, swimming and boating is suspended within this park. Manatee season ended this year around March 28, but they will be back in the late fall.

Day 14 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost and "M" day in the Blogging in #AtoZChallenge.  My theme:  "Florida-Outside the Theme Parks".

Tomorrow I'm "off" participating in Garden Bloggers Bloom Day but Monday I will return with my "N" post.  Please join me then.

Winter Wonders - Manatees

 The manatee is a slow moving mammal found, in the United States, in Florida.  It is also known as the "sea cow" although it is more closely related to the elephant.

Living in water, they can hold their breaths for up to 20 minutes.

They are plant eaters, and can eat up to 10% of their body weight in plant matter each day.

The West Indian manatee, along with two other manatee species, are endangered.  Here are some fun facts about manatees.  Sadly, their only real enemy in the wild is man.

They can be run over by boats - manatees are no match for boaters.

Humans in Florida have finally woken up to the importance of saving the manatee.

In winter, manatees gather in several spots in Florida, where the water is warm, to winter.  In turn, people come from all over the world to see them.

Today, I would like to give you, my dear readers, a couple of glimpses into the world of the manatee.  It is fortunate that the water at this spring is so clear that you can see the manatees without much trouble.

These pictures were taken earlier this month at Blue Springs State Park in Florida.  Because the weather was cooler than usual, over 250 manatees were sighted the day we were there.

Here's Blue Springs itself.  At one time, before the state took the land, this was a swimming hole.  Now, no swimming is permitted during manatee season (from November into early March).  In spring, the manatees disperse and that's it for mass viewings until late fall.

And a sign educating the public about manatees and how to help protect these treasures of Florida.

Have you ever seen a manatee?