Snorkeling with manatees

On Saturday Shirley and Ben and I went up to Bird's Underwater in Crystal River and went swimming with the manatees. Wow! These large, gentle mammals are incredibly friendly. They love to get scratched under their "arms" - under their flippers - and also seem to enjoy getting their bellies scratched :-)

Here's a few small pics from our snorkel trip:

If you have a high-speed connection (or some patience), here's a 20 second movie of swimming with manatees. The first person scratching the manatee is Ben, I pop in a little later. This is about the end of the manatee season until November; it's getting too warm and their heading out of the rivers now. We will definitely go back next season!

Comments

[Curt Carlson]

very cool...looks like you are enjoying Florida. Hey are there alligators in that water?

[Joe Litton]

Yo Curt....Nope, no gators in that water. It's way too clear. Gators like to hide in murky water and surprise their prey. Although...once in a while there is a story about someone who was swimming in a lake or other place that normally does not have gators and BAM! they get a chunk taken out of them from (I'm guessing) a gator who lost his way.

[Dr. Lavine]

I just don't see this as a big deal - you can do the same thing in Oregon with slugs.

Nice movie, anyway.