The start of a brand new year and what better way to welcome it in than by doing a road trip. And as is the way of road trips, they tend to take you somewhere wonderful and my road trip led me to the Gulf of Mexico and to the manatee of Florida.
How could I best describe these West Indian manatees other than to say they are incredibly charismatic and sweetly natured. Although large and cumbersome looking, the manatee are actually very agile and quite delicate. They weigh up to 550 kg, can grow up to almost 4 meters in length (13 feet) and they are dependent on warm waters for survival.
Being near or in or under the water is where I know I belong and it is where I feel most at home and there was nothing more enchanting than to be under the water with these beautiful and very gentle one tonne creatures. Immersed in this wonderland, I saw beautiful mothers with calves who are the perfect duplicate of their parents yet so endearing. Being inquisitive creatures, the manatee will approach you. Sometimes they will be alone, sometimes in the company of other manatee or with a calf but you cannot help but let your heart tumble with love for these incredible creatures.
I was so fortunate to be in the company of Joe, a fellow conservationist, whose work is about the protection and preservation of these lovely creatures. We were on the water at dawn, the most beautiful part of the day, and long before any of the ‘big tourist’ boats were out. The tourist boats can carry up to 50 people at any one time and that sort of trip in those conditions is definitely not for me! We were also not in the clear ‘springs’ but in the open water of the river systems where the water was, at times murky, but again it was away from the tourists. I really could not have wished for anything more wonderful than to have spent hours in the water observing and enjoying these lovely sea cows.
Mid November to March 1st is the best time to see the manatee but you need to wait until the coldest of temperatures arrive. I was constantly reading and charting weather maps in anticipation of the coldest time in Florida and very fortunately, I managed to hit the coldest day. My patience and planning was well rewarded with the company of approximately 32 manatees on the day.
The Manatee are air breathing and slow moving as their swim is serene and unhurried. Given this, they spend a lot of their time on the surface of the water, and as a result, many of the manatee very sadly show the scars of propeller encounter. I have always thought, as with any healing wound, the scar suggest the hurt is finally over and recovery has perhaps begun.
Life is short and at times fragile and our world, although beautiful, can be a tragic and harsh place however we are so lucky to have the experience of this life so don’t ever waste a moment of it especially on maliciousness and spite. I do so believe with all of my heart, that every one of us has the power to make positive changes and a difference in this world. We should all strive to care for each other and to protect all living creatures through respect, compassion and love. Always measure your worth by what you do and by your humanity and your kindness because we as humans are the only ones who can do that. The potential for acknowledging that our careful acts of empathy and gentleness truly does have the greatest of impact.
The manatee’s plight is still very much in crisis. They are endangered and don’t let anyone tell you they are not. It was such an incredible privilege and experience to swim alongside the manatee and to do something like this will make you weep with immense gratitude. I was able to dive and swim and glide and gracefully somersault in the water with these gentle and beautifully natured creatures and given this, I acknowledge that all animals are depend on our compassion, our quiet and passive observation, our respect and our great love in order to survive.
And just in case I ever momentarily forget how truly fortunate I am……. swimming with the manatee will always remind me of how wonderful life really is xx
oceangirl - these are my stories 
OMG! OMG! That was so amazing. Loved this so much!
Thank you for your lovely comment Ali x
Incredible. Amazing photos and your writing was so lovely about the Manatee.
Thank you Luca for your lovely comment x
JUST BEAUTIFUL!!
Thank you Lola for such a lovely message x
What an incredible experience. Just awesome. You go oceangirl 🙂
Thank you Miss Pepper, it certainly was a wonderful experience x
OMG. So in love with manatees now xx
So happy to read you lovely comment Sammi x
Just when I think I could not love my oceangirl63 any more you go and do this. WOW, so amazing.
So appreciate your great comment Hillsy x
So gorgeous. I think I am in love with manatees.
The manatee certainly are very easy to love Julia 🙂 x
Loved the last three paragraphs! You absolutely nailed it! Any animal would be so lucky to have you on their side. You always fight the good fight. Love ya oceangirl 🙂
Thank you so much for your great comment Abel. I will always use my voice for those who do not have one x
Hi from Finland! Wow what an amazing experience. So funny about you looking for the coldest day in Florida – not many would get excited about that 😛 Manatees are such sweet animals, thank you for sharing.
Hello from beautiful Australia Mrs Suvi. Thank you for your lovely comment, I am so glad you enjoyed the post. I know, how odd to want the coldest day in Florida among the tans, sunshine and sand 🙂 x
Thank you so much for this. I love so much this and the photos. It is amazing yes. Guillaume.
Thank you for your lovely comment Guillaume, I am so glad you enjoyed the Manatee post. And yes, it was certainly amazing x
I think you just made the world fall in love with something only a mother could love 🙂 great blog, loved it, thanx oceangirl63
What a great comment Harry, thank you 🙂 x
Freakin blown away by the amazing photos!! What camera did you use?
Thank you Casey for your lovely comment. I recently purchased a Sealife DC1400 Underwater Camera while in America and tested it out on the manatee. I was pretty happy with the results x
What an incredible experience. Just amazing. I loved your blog and your photos. I would have been too scared to do this, and the manatee look huge and a bit scary. Do they bite?? I want to be ocean girl but I’m just not brave enough 🙂 Eva x
Thank you Eva for your sweet comment. The manatee are big but so very, very gentle. They really are lovely natured. They do not bite at all. They are completely vegetarian as they feed on sea grass. They will play with long hair – mine was in a braid which they ‘ chewed’ on but did not damage…..it really was a lovely experience x
Holy ‘sea’ cow 🙂 This was amazing. Thank you for sharing your amazing experiences and your journal ♡
Thank you Havana for your very lovely comment x