I have the good fortune to live about 1 mile from Blue Spring, a winter sanctuary for Manatees. As plump as Manatees appear, they actually have less than a 1 inch fat layer. This leaves them vulnerable to cold temperatures which can prove fatal. Florida spring water has a year round constant temperature of 72 degrees. When the river temperature drops much below that, the Manatees congregate in springs and other warm spots such as the discharge from power plants.

This year has seen a record number of Manatee deaths, mostly from starvation. Massive areas of sea grass along the coast were destroyed by an algae bloom in the past and recovery is slow. Fortunately, the St. Johns River still has abundant food so the Manatees in the river are relatively safe.

We visited the spring with a guest visiting from Idaho. On that day the Manatee count in the spring run was 474. We visited a few days later, on a much warmer day, and the count was only 7. Researchers count the manatees every day. Blue Spring is also a location where rescued and rehabilitated Manatees are frequently released.

In the summer there aren't many Manatees to see but swimming is allowed and scuba divers also dive in the spring. There are also canoe rentals and a large vessel that takes visitors on a 2 hour tour of the river and wildlife.

Please forgive the poor quality of the pictures. I guess I haven't figured out the best way to photograph them.
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I have the good fortune to live about 1 mile from Blue Spring, a winter sanctuary for Manatees. As plump as Manatees appear, they actually have less than a 1 inch fat layer. This leaves them vulnerable to cold temperatures which can prove fatal. Florida spring water has a year round constant temperature of 72 degrees. When the river temperature drops much below that, the Manatees congregate in springs and other warm spots such as the discharge from power plants.

This year has seen a record number of Manatee deaths, mostly from starvation. Massive areas of sea grass along the coast were destroyed by an algae bloom in the past and recovery is slow. Fortunately, the St. Johns River still has abundant food so the Manatees in the river are relatively safe.

We visited the spring with a guest visiting from Idaho. On that day the Manatee count in the spring run was 474. We visited a few days later, on a much warmer day, and the count was only 7. Researchers count the manatees every day. Blue Spring is also a location where rescued and rehabilitated Manatees are frequently released.

In the summer there aren't many Manatees to see but swimming is allowed and scuba divers also dive in the spring. There are also canoe rentals and a large vessel that takes visitors on a 2 hour tour of the river and wildlife.

Please forgive the poor quality of the pictures. I guess I haven't figured out the best way to photograph them.
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