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Trichechus manatus latirostris
The first 2 photos show about a dozen manatees hanging around a corner of the springs. Since it was starting to warm up, most manatees had left the springs for the day to forage outside and would come back in the evening as the water cools. The third shows a calf and its mother, with the 4th showing it nursing (the mammary glads are behind the front flippers). Many of the manatees hang out just outside the springs, with hundreds coming to the King's Bay area in the winter.
Three Sisters Springs is 72 degrees year-round give or take a degree, making it a safe place to manatees to come and escape the cold winter waters. The power plant a little further out of town warms the water, which is why so many manatees come into the bay and find their way to the springs here. They learn it is a good place to winter and come back each year.
Spotted on Dec 15, 2018
Submitted on Mar 13, 2019
11 Comments
Great! Congrats Machi!
Brilliant spotting - Congratulations Machi and thanks for sharing this wonderful experience with us.
Congrats on SOTD. Beautiful shot. should be a postcard !!
Thanks everyone! I know how lucky I am to live in a place these manatees call home. I'm so glad you can appreciate them too :)
Congratulations Machi on your SOTD. That is one animal I will probably never see in the wild. Thanks for sharing.
Brilliant spotting. And congrats on spotting as well as on SOTD
Congratulations Machi. Well deserved SOTD indeed.
How beautiful...thank yo for sharing. I have never seen a Manatee in real life.
What an incredible spotting. Well done on your SOTD, Machi. I would love to see these.
Beautiful series Machi,love first shot,congrats on the well deserved SOTD and thanks for sharing
Congratulations Machi, this beautiful series is our Spotting of the Day:
"Spotting of the Day! We fell for this beautiful and peaceful image of manatees at Three Sisters Springs, Florida, USA. The threatened Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) uses warmer spring waters to avoid exposure to debilitating cold periods during winter. These gentle and slow-moving mammals spend most of their time eating, resting, and traveling. Make sure to visit the spotting for more images and notes!
To learn more about the Florida manatee: https://buff.ly/2O3VU8L "
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