While preparing for a morning boat trip last week, we noticed a disturbance along the seawall in the lagoon in front of the wet lab.
A pod of 6 manatees had cruised in to check out our seawater intake pipes and show off their new baby. They nibbled the algae on the PVC pipes and tickled their bellies with the seawater bubbler. Baby was very curious about our marker buoy.
All 5 adults had terrible prop scars on their heads and backs from past encounters with boat motors. One manatee was actually missing almost half of its tail fluke.
In spite of the temptation, we did not offer them drinks from our fresh water hose as this would only encourage them to return to dock areas and marinas, putting them in danger of further run-ins with boaters. We enjoyed their visit for over a half hour and then they moved on.
While preparing for a morning boat trip last week, we noticed a disturbance along the seawall in the lagoon in front of the wet lab. 
A pod of 6 manatees had cruised in to check out our seawater intake pipes and show off their new baby. They nibbled the algae on the PVC pipes and tickled their bellies with the seawater bubbler. Baby was very curious about our marker buoy. 
All 5 adults had terrible prop scars on their heads and backs from past encounters with boat motors. One manatee was actually missing almost half of its tail fluke. 
In spite of the temptation, we did not offer them drinks from our fresh water hose as this would only encourage them to return to dock areas and marinas, putting them in danger of further run-ins with boaters. We enjoyed their visit for over a half hour and then they moved on.
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