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Manatees. Sea Cows. The ocean’s gentle giants. No matter what you call them, they are magnificent creatures.
I have been fascinated by manatees for so long. The way they peacefully float through the water, munching on plants has always made me want to encounter them in the wild. Unfortunately, they not only don’t live on the California coast where I come from, but they are endangered making my chances of seeing them in the wild even less likely. Luckily, I currently live in Tennessee which is only a short days drive away from the Gulf Coast of Florida where they do live! So of course I had to take a weekend trip to Florida to see these magical creatures.
I knew that manatees lived in the Gulf Coast waters around Florida, but had no idea where the best place was to see them in the state. Manatees live in warm waters, so when winter arrives and the temperature of the Atlantic Ocean cools down, manatees seek warmer water for the season. With a little research, I learned that many manatees spend their winters around the town of Crystal River, Florida.
Why Crystal River? I asked myself this same question. Kings Bay in Crystal River is fed by springs that keep the water temperature about 72 degrees year round. This warm water draws manatees in the winter seeking warmth from the cooler Atlantic.
Luckily, there are different tour companies in the area that not only offer visitors the chance to see manatees, but you an actually snorkel with them! I obviously decided to do this. I signed up for a 3 hour tour that include kayaking through the marina to the springs, then time to actually jump in the water and swim with the manatees before kayaking back to the starting point.
My first manatee sighting happened on the kayak paddle to the springs. As we were paddling out, not far from my kayak, I could see a gray figure in the water slowly getting closer to the surface. It was a manatee coming up for air! This first sighting was followed by many more manatees floating to the surface for air. Once we arrived at the springs, our group tied up our kayaks, put on a mask and snorkel, and jumped into the water. Even though the water in the river wasn’t very deep, we were instructed to stay near our guide boat and out of the middle of the river where other boats were arriving.
Spotting the manatees was much more difficult than I thought it would be. The water was clear at the surface but became much murkier the lower you looked, making it hard to spot manatees until they were on their way up for air. I usually only saw the back of the manatees as they swam past because they would appear where I wasn’t looking. I spent most of my time swimming in a circle so I wouldn’t miss any manatees popping up behind me.
Although I didn’t see as many manatees as I had hoped, I had an amazing experience! I took my trip in March, which was a bit late in the season. Earlier in winter has a better chance at seeing more manatees, even though they can be found in this area all year. I will definitely be back and hope to see even more of these marvelous animals on my next visit!
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