Once on the brink of extinction, the manatee population level in Florida has been rising thanks to the legal protection afforded to animals classified as "endangered species".
Photo: R. Kinre / Comstock
The manatee, Florida’s gentle giant (aka, the “sea cow”), may be spotted in the largest numbers during the winter and early spring months.
Manatees are often found congregating around bubbly springs, within state and marine water parks, or near power plants where the outflow of warm water keeps their body temperatures constant.
Manatees are related to the elephant, with grayish thick, leathery wrinkled skin. Propelled by huge powerful tails, manatees are actual slow swimmers. They lumber along quietly through Florida’s waterways. If you look, you can find them year-round in Florida, but it is much easier in cooler months when large numbers cluster near the temperate water.
As herbivores, manatees usually dine on marine and freshwater plants, grazing along grass flats and aquatic meadows, surfacing for air while breathing through their whiskered nostrils. These gentle creatures are definitely heavyweights, tipping the scales anywhere between 1,000-3,500 pounds and consuming up to ten percent of their body weight in marine vegetation each day. The females give birth to calves typically weighing more than 60 pounds as they nurse under water. - in: https://authenticflorida.com
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