If you’re stressed out by, well, everything, maybe take a moment to check out this manatee cam operated by the Save the Manatee Club in Florida:
The Save the Manatee Club was founded by former Florida Governor Bob Graham (D) and Jimmy Buffet. It operates several above- and below-water manatee cams at fresh water springs. This time of year, when there’s a chill in the air, the manatees flock to warm water springs.
I grew up on a spring-fed river that has manatees year round, but there are more in the winter, of course. The spring water is a steady 72 F, which feels like an ice bath in the summer when the air temperatures are 95 F and warm as bath water in the winter when it’s in the 60s or lower.
Anyway, I find watching the manatees (or sea cows, as the old-timers call them) pretty calming. They don’t make any sudden moves — can’t, in fact, which is why almost all except babies have boat propeller scars. They seem to sleep, socialize or nosh peacefully on aquatic weeds all day.
Florida has set aside more manatee zones for the critters over the years, which is a good thing. Boat collisions kill far fewer now than they used to when I was a kid, when you were allowed to barrel around in a power boat at top speed year-round.
The manatee zones also give them a place to get away from humans if they want to; you’re not supposed to follow them into their designated hang-outs, feed or harass them in any way. They’re friendly and curious by nature; if you slip quietly into the water and don’t splash around and make a scene, chances are they will come to you.
I’ve told y’all about the first time I took my future husband to swim with the manatees: I’d told him about them, but words didn’t prepare him adequately. He jumped into the river and snorkeled over to where I said I’d seen one surface for air.
Minutes later, his head popped out of the water, and he turned toward the boat, eyes bugging behind the mask like Wile E. Coyote after an ACME product mishap. He practically walked on water back to the boat.
“It’s as big as a MINI-VAN,” he explained, after leaping into the boat like a great white was chomping at his heels. Manatees are not really that big, but they are impressively huge. I probably should have mentioned that! I still kid the mister about being afraid of manatees all these years later.
The only downside about sharing a river with manatees is their poop: it looks pretty much like a human turd except two feet long! All I’m saying is, if you’re in the water with manatees and see one lift its fluke, swim away!
Open thread!
trollhattan
“That’s not a manatee, it’s a vanatee!”
Possible tshirt.
That water looks so clear and inviting, no wonder it’s full of critters. Glad to know there are parts of Florida not scraped flat.
Inventor
When Senator Doug Jones was Attorney General in Alabama, he re-opened the Birmingham bombing investigation.
The KKK threatened him and his family.
He responded on official letterhead: “…kiss my ass.”
The man has a spine of titanium. Certifiable badass.
A true American Statesman.
NickM
Romney is going to vote to convict Trump. I’m shocked, but in a good way.
JPL
My family vacationed at South Seas several years and one time my son and his cousin took a canoe out near the manatees. To see the thrill in their eyes was worth the price of going
Betty thanks for the memories. They didn’t mention poop
Betty Cracker
@NickM: Same! Do we know what Manchin is going to do yet?
rikyrah
@NickM:
Willard is running in 2024
Inventor
Obligatory:
“Oh, the huge manatee!”
MattF
Also, if you’re at the zoo and see a hippo spin its tail, you’re too close.
JPL
@Betty Cracker: I’m not watching but I read that Romney had tears in his eyes. I hope that Manchin has a spine but I don’t know for sure.
Why do they hate Pence? After all if twenty repubs voted to convict, he’d be president tonight.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
It pleases me to know this. I always liked Graham, and I saw Buffett live three or four times in the last century, pleasant memories that I won’t try to recreate. I’m gonna send them $25
Sometimes you make me want to spend a couple of weeks in Florida to see birds and manatees and eat seafood. I guess this isn’t a deal-breaker, but I’m not getting out of the boat. Any boat.
Elizabelle
Thank you, Betty.
Had hoped to see a manatee during recent visit to Key Largo. Lots of wind, though, and the water was roiled. Did see a few dolphins, though, and definitely iguanas. (Nonfrozen variety.)
And: got to see a mama wild hog and her five little hogs ambling along a safe distance from a road near Cape Canaveral. They were a well behaved little crew.
Florida is a treasure, ecologically.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@NickM: credit where due, I would have lost a big bet, and this is going to enrage— enraaaaage– The Beast
mrmoshpotato
Down in front, swinging branch thingy.
Barbara
I love visiting the spring fed rivers in Florida. We did the Juniper Springs kayak/canoeing trip around four years ago, and it was truly breathtaking. The only downside was getting stuck on a tree limb and having to jump out for five seconds to get free. You are not supposed to EVER get out of the boat. Obviously, we survived.
trollhattan
@MattF:
Our zoo was down to but a lone hippo, Jewel, and she was utterly delightful (I didn’t have any expulsion events). She loved playing with a giant, giant ball that somehow survived her bites.
JPL
@Elizabelle: The ecosystem at Captiva and South Seas is amazing and you really should consider a trip. IMO The panhandle visits are a waste.
jonas
Well, looks like Romney will vote to convict. I can’t wait to see the shitstorm Trump unleashes against him, but hey, he’s not up for re-election until 2024 when….oh, yeah, I can see what he did there.
I guess I can admire his confidence that, should Trump be reelected, that there will even be elections in 2024, or that he’ll be any more effective against Don, Jr.’s candidacy than Bill Weld has been against Trump, but whatever.
germy
There’s something about sea mammals that has a calming influence on me.
MattF
@jonas: Trump is not popular in Utah.
germy
This quote has sort of made me dislike Melville.
Betty Cracker
@JPL: I think the Panhandle has the prettiest beaches in Florida. I’m not really a beach person, though. I prefer rivers and springs by far.
Elizabelle
@JPL: Thank you. Have never done the Gulf Coast, and it’s past time. Have heard all kinds of good things about Captiva.
I really liked the Keys. And we visited Key West for one day. Ernest Hemingway’s house was very crowded, but I liked it very much. Good tour.
Miss Bianca
That manatee cam is very soothing, thanks, BC!
And what’s all this about Romney? Man is *definitely* looking ahead. Or maybe he really does have some sort of integrity after all.
patrick Il
There is an Evangelical who is (of course) suing the NFL because he feels that the SuperBowl halftime show threatens his soul with eternal damnation . I share his sentiments.
germy
This headline!
Trump more popular in Utah than Romney, as senator weighs impeachment
psycholinguist
Somebody who knows these things, how are the manatee not alligator food? Is it just size if they can get to that point?
germy
@psycholinguist:
In relation to the threat posed by humans, predation does not present a significant threat to manatees.[35] When threatened, the manatee’s response is to dive as deeply as it can, suggesting that threats have most frequently come from land dwellers such as humans rather than from other water-dwelling creatures such as caimans or sharks.[35]
Miss Bianca
@germy: Isn’t that Ishmael speaking, though? I give an author a pass when they’re putting words into the mouths of his characters.
NotMax
@psycholinguist
They taste simply terrible.
;)
germy
@Miss Bianca: Well then I don’t like Ishmael.
I read Moby Dick cover to cover for the first time about ten years ago (unabridged) and enjoyed it immensely, but I didn’t remember that quote.
opiejeanne
@Inventor: Probably someone has already mentioned it but we had a commenter whose nym was Odie Hugh Manatee.
Betty Cracker
@psycholinguist: Manatees are very large, and they also have super-thick hides, like an elephant (they’re descended from the same species, IIRC — you can really see it in the nails on their fins). It would be hard for a gator to get its jaws around a manatee.
Miss Bianca
@germy: Me, too – it’s been far too long, I need to revisit it. Ishmael is a bit of a prankster, tho’ – I wouldn’t take too many of his asides that seriously. : )
WaterGirl
@opiejeanne: We still do! He was here sometime in the past two weeks, I believe.
Jeffro
I’d just like to point out that if Willard is voting to convict, that means we had a
BIPARTISAN
vote to convict!
Which means no ‘impeachment lite’ or ‘fake impeachment’ or whatever for you, trumpov!
(Also Beltway snooze media: I sure as hell better hear BIPARTISAN VOTE TO CONVICT from you lame-os from now until the end of time)
Ralphie
Romney is gonna vote to convict.
Searcher
@germy: I’ll wait til the vote is in to opine on whether Romney is a man of some-sort-of-principles.
A Ghost To Most
Pretty cool, but not very entertaining. I prefer the elk herd that inhabits the grounds around the school where my son works. You never know what’s going to happen.
Searcher
@Jeffro: That’s the point at which I expect (or rather, “demand”, in as much as a non-constituent can demand anything of a US Senator) Manchin to fall in line, although I believe by the rules he votes before Romney.
frosty
@Betty Cracker: We’ll be on our way to Florida again next week. We’re the same – we like the springs and we’re not huge beach fans. We were too late in the season a couple of years ago for Peak Manatee at Blue Springs State Park but saw a couple of them at least.
LOVE Florida state parks!
Mnemosyne
During a trip to Sea World about 20 years ago, we were part of a crowd that was standing around admiring the manatees. It was one of those tanks with the visible sides so you could see the whole (gigantic!) animal.
One of the manatees got up close to another and someone said, “Is it breastfeeding?”
And the guy next to us said, “Uh, that’s not a breast.” ?
Yep, we witnessed the start of some manatee lovin’.
OzarkHillbilly
Everything looks bigger underwater. Once while snorkeling in the buff on the Big Creek at 1 AM my son and his friend came unexpectedly face to face with a beaver. Jesus would’ve been proud of them boys as they came flying back to the gravel bar. It was a good hour before the wife and I could stop laughing.
JPL
@Betty Cracker: Same. I haven’t been to Captiva since the island was decimated from hurricanes, but it was a magical spot. The shells were amazing. really nice memories though Not to make anyone else teary eyes but that was last time my son saw his cousin since Danny had a congenital defect that no one knew about.
SenyorDave
I have a man crush on Mitt Romney (just for today). I saw a video of his announcement and I don’t think you can fake that emotion.
Jay
@germy:
@Miss Bianca:
back in the day, “gyppo” whalers would hunt seals, dugongs and other sea mammals for their fat, and would try to market/sell it as “whale oil”.
Less risk, less effort, less capital investment, less time invested for a much lower quality product,
so the bias Melville writes in, would have been perfectly natural.
Jeffro
@Searcher: Heck if Jones can vote to convict, Manchin sure as heck better
artem1s
I had a very similar panic moment when I was manatee watching in Key Largo. A mamma and her baby swam under the kayak I was in. It was pretty scary. It would have been so easy for them to turn me over and put me in the water. Thank goodness they are so placid and calm.
Mnemosyne
@OzarkHillbilly:
Beavers are pretty good-sized rodents. Here’s Filbert, from the Oregon Zoo:
https://youtu.be/H99iNPJKK7c
NickM
Romney’s speech supporting his decision was the kind of lofty, intelligent political speech that you almost never hear anymore, and certainly not from today’s Republicans, who think three-syllable words make one gay. Well done, Sen. Romney.
WaterGirl
@Mnemosyne: He lost most of his leaves!
Mnemosyne
@WaterGirl:
I think he mostly wanted the branch.
They also used him as “Portland Fil” on 2/2 since they don’t have a groundhog. ? He picked between two treats to make his decision.
OzarkHillbilly
@Mnemosyne: I had one go under my canoe on the Current river once. It was as big as a submarine.
kindness
It’s illegal to feed mantees? Damn. What am I supposed to do with all these cabbages?
LuciaMia
Looks like lots of tasty fish there too.
Cermet
Been to clear water and swam with them; super nice. Many came to me and wanted attention – I was lost what the attention was that they wanted. One youngster stayed with me until I got back into the boat,
catclub
@rikyrah: well sanders is already 78. Romney is 72 so will
be 76 in 2024.
Of course both are too old, but that does not stop em from running any more.
LuciaMia
@NickM: “not from today’s Republicans, who think three-syllable words make one gay.”
Okay, that made me laugh for 5 straight minutes.
JPL
@OzarkHillbilly: Hah Once while canoeing we had to portage across branches and my golden jumped into the stream and was getting sucked in. Of course being the good person that I am I sent the ex into the water to save her. hmm can’t imagine why he’s an ex
J R in WV
@A Ghost To Most:
WV DNR went to great lengths to attempt to reintroduce elk to WV starting a few years ago. Got breeding stock from out west, AZ I think, by swapping other big game species, or by purchase, I don’t recall. Installed them on a huge “reclaimed” mountain top removal job in the very SW corner of the state.
Just the other day I read where a majority of the herd, mostly pregnant female elk, had died of some kind of brain parasite. Oops. Sad. But I must admit, I do not want a herd of elk to wander through my neck of the woods! The sorta feeble woven wire fences people use to keep whitetail deer out wouldn’t even be noticed by an elk!
WaterGirl
@Mnemosyne: He’s adorable.
gwangung
Approval where approval is called for. As much as Romney’s been a jackal in other instances, we should approve where he does the right thing.
There. That wasn’t so hard, was it?
Ruckus
@JPL:
Why jump from the pan into the fire?
His home state didn’t nickname him dense for no reason. He earned it. I bet he was chosen for that reason alone, what’s the higher risk, trump or dense? Devil you know vs the devil you know.
Elizabelle
@gwangung: jackal or jackass? (Or Jack Mormon?)
dopey-o
@jonas: mormons, having been on the receiving end of religious hatred, aren’t buying anything Drump throws at Mitt. Let the wild rumpus begin!
Ruckus
@J R in WV:
Was at the south rim of the Grand Canyon, walking through the worker housing in the middle of the park and the kids playing all looked in my general direction and quietly all walked away. I turned my head the direction they were looking and about 10-12 feet from me was a full grown elk. His shoulder was at least a foot higher than I am tall. He looked like there wasn’t much that was going to screw with him. I walked away quickly and calmly, hoping he wasn’t hungry or pissed.
J R in WV
@Ruckus:
Smart kids~! At Yellowstone we saw stapled to every standard engraved wooden signpost a laminated warning about the Bison in the park.
Or words to that effect, anyway. We were on a loop path around some mudpots and boulders and such and went around a rock.
There was a huge Bison lying across the path. Even tho we were nearly back to the parking lot, we turned right around and walked very slowly away from Mr Bison and all the way back around the path. Nothing worth even irritating a bison, they’re huge.
There was steam coming out of the storm drains in that particular parking lot! We were there just before Memorial Day weekend, it was not yet crowded, we had a great time. 1991 IIRC
TomatoQueen
Lovely manatees, the big dopey sillies. Considering the state of the water I wonder whether they’re still hanging about in warm spots in the Caloosahatchee, by the power plant. Last one I saw unfortunately was deceased, tied up to the boat ramp on the fishing side of the Sanibel Causeway, and blown up to the size of a tank. That was nearly 30 years ago and I’m amazed the creatures still exist. Also, too, my beloved panthers. But developers and Big Sugar will always do their very damnedest. If you’re at all having a hankering to explore Sanibel/Captiva, go to Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge for superb birding, Cayo Costa by boat for shells, and the Tween Waters Inn which used to be lovely and funky but looks fancied up, but allows pets and when we honeymooned there, was full of stray cats.
Betty Cracker
@TomatoQueen: Excellent advice all around! I’m a very amateur birder, but I managed to spot a mangrove cuckoo at Ding Darling. People who’ve been birding for ages get so mad when I tell that story! You can walk around for years and never see one. My husband heard it first, and it flew right over us.
AM in NC
Love Blue Springs! My mom lived in Winter Park for years, and we’d go to the springs occasionally when I visited. Wekiwa Springs too. You see all kinds of people tubing down the springs – it is a wonderful cross section of America, warts and all. Thanks for the respite from the shitshow that is our current GOP. Tomorrow, back to doing everything I can to kick them out on their asses come November.
JustRuss
I empathize with Mr. Cracker. I was kneeling on the edge of an embankment once, watching thousands of minnows zoom by in the current, when something HUGE appeared right in front of me. Squealed like a school girl and jumped back, it was just a manatee. If it was a gator it could have took my head off.
Inspectrix
I’ll be down in Florida in a few weeks visiting family. The morning pastime is watching the manatees swim past the dock. It’s a mindfulness exercise to train one’s eyes to scan and look for the subtle disturbances in the water. There is 1 sighting for every 5-10 times someone shouts “Manateeeeee!” What amazes me is that our Floridian hosts never seem to tire of the search. Then again, they don’t seem to tire of the ridiculously beautiful sunsets.