manatees spotted

I hear they are having a manatee sandwich special at a local restaurant. As a joke a cook in a local restaurant told a server what the days specials were, one was a manatee sandwich. She took the bait! She was offering manatee sandwiches to the diners!!!!!

I am partial to marine mammals and would love to go to the springs and frolick with them!
:wub:

we just returned from a trip to Bradenton, where my kids, my wife, my parents, and I got to see 62-year-old Snooty (who I saw as a kid...me, not him...in the '70's). They are a true "gentle giant" and, coming from someone who has seen animals from 5 continents, they are the most unique.

Enjoy your experience!

Thanks for the report ! So cool they are. Usually they are headed east this time of year to follow the coast back down south.

When they put their heads up they're breathing. ;-)

They passed right by my spot in Seagrove but I had just come in froom a swim and was talking. Suddenly someone said, "What is everyone staring at?" I looked but couldn't see anything by that point.

Later two girls I've been talking to came down and described what they'd seen, saying it looked like two animals. I told them then that it was probably two Manatee. Last year that's how someone described the one my son and I got close to and I swam with. Sure wish I'd gone out with these.

Btw, The puffer fish are out in full force. I brough one to the surface today to let a tourist who I'd brought out there see. He was impressed but thought that they were poisonous. But I came out unscathed.

Is a puffer the same as a blow fish? I've played with a blow fish before, but not in the Gulf.

I am partial to marine mammals and would love to go to the springs and frolick with them!
:wub:

Lynnie if you ever get the chance to go swimmimng with the manatees don't pass it up. It's a magical experience!!!

They passed right by my spot in Seagrove but I had just come in froom a swim and was talking. Suddenly someone said, "What is everyone staring at?" I looked but couldn't see anything by that point.

Later two girls I've been talking to came down and described what they'd seen, saying it looked like two animals. I told them then that it was probably two Manatee. Last year that's how someone described the one my son and I got close to and I swam with. Sure wish I'd gone out with these.

Btw, The puffer fish are out in full force. I brough one to the surface today to let a tourist who I'd brought out there see. He was impressed but thought that they were poisonous. But I came out unscathed.

IIRC the spines do have poison, but I don't think the local ones are deadly unless you are allergic.

Is a puffer the same as a blow fish? I've played with a blow fish before, but not in the Gulf.

More or less, they suck in water to puff up and ward off predators.

I hear they are having a manatee sandwich special at a local restaurant. As a joke a cook in a local restaurant told a server what the days specials were, one was a manatee sandwich. She took the bait! She was offering manatee sandwiches to the diners!!!!!

I love it :floor:
that made me smile ;-)

they'll eat iceberg lettuce

I love it :floor:
that made me smile ;-)

JoHo, I love your smile. :clap:Happy to say it was not in the establishment you are affiliated with.

JoHo, I love your smile. :clap:Happy to say it was not in the establishment you are affiliated with.

I wouldn't put it past the owner. 😀

they cruise the north beach's this time of year, every year. and to catch a glimpse of them is truly a treat. your lucky and im jelous.....

Are manatees still protected? When I was a kid diving in Crystal River it was illegal to touch, harass, interfere with or molest manatees. They were all over in our marina then and there was a big campaign to protect them from propellers. Bumper stickers that said "I break for manatees". My good friend in high school modified the one on his truck to say "I eat fried manatee." He later became a captain and serious advocate of protecting our bays and the wildlife/aquatic life.

I miss seeing them. I can always kayak and find them when I am down south of Sarasota but have never seen them here.