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Did you know manatees inspired mermaid legends? Evidence suggests that explorers sailing around Florida and the Caribbean, including Christopher Columbus, sometimes mistook manatees for mermaids. This fun fact has led many Florida manatee lovers like me to affectionately refer to manatees as chubby mermaids.
Manatees are classified as sirenians, the only completely aquatic mammals that are herbivores. They live in shallow waters grazing on seagrasses and aquatic plants and coming up to breathe every few minutes.
While they have no natural enemies and can live longer than 50 years, Florida manatees are dying at an alarming rate. Manatees face many threats including boat strikes, pollution and habitat loss.
How You Can Help Protect Florida Manatees
We can all play a part in helping to protect our chubby mermaids. Here are a few ways you and your family can help Florida manatees:
Clean up along waterways and shorelines. Pick up litter or discarded fishing line and dispose of it properly. Teach your kids about the importance of keeping the environment clean and model responsible behavior.
Boat responsibly. Obey posted waterway signs and avoid traveling in seagrass or other shallow areasย where manatees may be feeding or resting. Look out for manatees and give them space. To help make it easier to spot them, wear polarized sunglasses.ย Keep an eye out for visible snouts or manatee โfootprintsโ โ large circles on the water that are indicators that manatees are below the surface.
Respect Florida manatees when you encounter them. Seeing a manatee in the wild is always exciting. Enjoy watching them and remember it is illegal to feed, harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, annoy, or molest manatees. Report injured, orphaned, entangled, distressed or dead Florida manatees to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Call the Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922.
Support Save the Manatee Club. Manatee adoptions make wonderful gifts for nature-loving kids. Adoptions cost $25 and the funds assist Save the Manatee Club in education, public awareness and advocacy efforts. When you adopt a manatee through Save the Manatee Club’s Adopt-A-Manatee program, you will receive an adoption certificate with a full-color photo and a biography of a real Florida manatee.
Stay informed about manatee protection issues. Use your voice and vote to support Florida manatees. Sign up for Save the Manatee Club’s email action network to stay in the know and get involved in advocating for manatees.
Where can you see manatees in Tampa Bay?
Want to get up close with Florida manatees? When the weather gets chilly in the winter, TECO’s free Manatee Viewing Center in Apollo Beach, Florida is the place to see manatees in the wild around Tampa Bay.
Manatees are very sensitive to the cold and this power station provides warm water they need to survive the winter. Tampa Electricโs Big Bend Power Station discharge canal is a state and federally designated manatee sanctuary that provides critical protection from the cold for Floridaโs beloved chubby mermaids. โ
The TECO Manatee Viewing Center is free to visit and open seasonally from November 1 through April 15.
More Places to See Florida Manatees in Tampa Bay
Other places to see Florida manatees around Tampa Bay include:
- ZooTampa’s Manatee Critical Care Center
- Bishop Museum of Science and Nature’s Manatee Rehabilitation Habitat
- MOTE Marine Laboratory & Aquarium
- Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park
- Kings Bay Manatee Refuge, Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge
- Chassahowitzka River
- Weeki Wachee River
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Where To See Manatees in North Florida
Near Tallahassee, Wakulla Springs is a haven for chubby mermaids. The river boat tour at this beautiful state park and 6,000-acre wildlife sanctuary gives visitors an up-close look at manatees and other Florida wildlife like alligators and birds.
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Great read ๐๐๐ Thank you for sharing.