Manatee Moment

KEY LARGO--Taking in the day of great scuba diving we ended up at Gilbert's outdoor bar for a beer and some excellent lobster bisque! Enjoying the true Key Largo flare of locals downing their favorite beverage and partaking in some karaoke, the people watching was excellent.

"Hey they got some manatees over there if you wanna see 'em," grumbled the guy next to us.

On the dock behind us a people crowded around. A man was on the back platform of his boat with a water hose feeding the manatees from the hose. Eight docile creatures snuggled around the dock and the boat like Labrador Retrievers waiting patiently for a rawhide. Apparently these creatures love fresh water. I was intrigued at how friendly they were and they didn't fear us a bit. They huddled right up to the dock and let us touch their rough skin and moved their walrus-like snouts as close as possible. Couldn't ask for a better ending to an already great day.
Manatee Fact Sheet

• Status: Endangered Population: The largest population of manatees is found in Florida, where approximately 2,000 individuals now live.

• Threats: Most manatees have a pattern of scars on their backs or tails from collisions with boats. Scientists use these patterns to identify individuals. But these collisions can be fatal for the manatee. Besides boating accidents, manatees have been found crushed or drowned in flood-control gates and also suffer from pollution and habitat loss.

• Survival: Manatees are thought to live 50 to 60 years in the wild.