Manatees

Habitat:

spotted in the shallows of the Indian River

Notes:

When I arrived at the river for sunrise this morning, the shallows were littered with the tell-tale lumps of manatees' backs.(lastphoto) They were feeding in the grass beds around the dock. I watched them for about twenty minutes--youngsters, juveniles and large adults; I counted sixteen in all. Then suddenly, shortly after sunrise (which I missed, btw), they all took off toward deeper water. It's surprising how quickly they can move even eighteen inches of water.