Animal Lesson #9: 9 Places in Florida Where Your Kids Might Spot a Manatee

Not only kids have curiosity about animals.  Travel & Leisure magazine article 12 Places to Swim with Animals states "your travel bucket list just got 12 items longer."  The article included swimming with manatees in Florida as one of the twelve places.  I admit that it was on my list.

All three species of manatees (West Indian, West African, Amazonians) have endangered animal status.  The Florida Manatee and Anitillean Manatees are subspecies of the West Indian species.  If you are a globe trotter, perhaps you visit the Anitillean Manatee in Puerto Rico or Mexico or the African Manatee in Kissama National Park in Angola, Africa.  Boat traffic and cold stress from temperatures below 68 degrees present risk factors for manatees.  If you go on a tour, the guide will reinforce instructions on how to observe without disturbing and rules such as not touching the manatees.

One of the few places to swim or snorkel with the Florida manatees is the Crystal River, north of Tampa.  In fact the book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die by Patricia Schultz lists "Swimming with Manatees" in Crystal River, FL and claims the river as the exclusive place "This is the only place in the world where you can have a face-to-face encounter with these gray-blue marine mammals."

A tour makes it easy, providing you wet suits and a short boat ride (under 30 minutes).  Make certain to arrive early to watch the mandatory regulations video.  Related to the elephants, these gentle giants or "sea cows" typically grow to 10 feet in length and can weigh over 3,000 lbs.  Manatees can live 50 to 60 years.

We saw manatees both active and swimming around us and manatees sleeping at lower levels.  Even during napping, manatees surface for air every twenty minutes.  Manatees eat large quantities of vegetation each day including sea grass, aquatic plants, algae, and mangrove leaves.  These friendly creatures swim gracefully.  It's a magical treat to swim near them.

The best time to spot manatees is during the winter and early spring when manatees gather near warmer water such as near springs or electric company channels.

If you take a Crystal River tour, swimming skills help.  You'll likely be in cool water for an hour and a half.

If seeing manatees from a boardwalk sounds most appealing, I highly recommend the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge in Crystal River.  It is part of the United States National Wildlife Refuge System.  Look online for office directions.  After parking, a shuttle bus takes you to the refuge. 

There's many places to observe manatees including these 9 places:

1.  Citrus County's Homosassa River, paddle toward Ellie Schuller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park

2.  Weeki Wachee River, warm Weeki Wachee Springs; check out Paddling Adventures located next to Weeiki Wachee Springs Park for a 5 mile, 3 hour paddle

3.  Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge observation area near Cape Canaveral, plus look nearby at Bairs Cove Boat Ramp

4.  Manatee Springs State Park Chiefland, Suwanee River, 100 million gallons of clear water comes from the springs

5.  Blue Spring State Park, north of Orlando, although access prohibited in winter

6.  Edward Ball Wakulla Spring Park, Wakulla Springs, the deepest freshwater spring in FL

7.  Lee County Park, Fort Meyers, discharge canal from electric company, check out Calusa Blueway Outfitters

8.  Manatee Lagoon, West Palm Beach, near electric company

9.  TECO Manatee Viewing Center, Apollo Beach near discharge canal

Experts estimate the total Florida manatee population at approximately 4,000, so you are not guaranteed to spot a manatee.  If you don't want to disappoint your kids, consider the Lowry Park Zoo or Miami Seaquarium. 

State Park #5: Weeki Wachee Springs State Park, Spring Hill Florida - mermaids & water sports

Mermaid swimming, a cross between free diving and synchronized swimming, has become trendy.  Perhaps your child doesn't have aspirations to become one of the professional thousand mermaid and merman, but observing a show does inspire strengthening swimming skills.  Mermaids can descend on a single breath.  While wearing a tail that can weigh up to 35 pound, they make choreographed moves to music.  It's no easy task.  It can take nine months of training, using hula hoop diving exercises and more.  Mermaids must get scuba and CPR certified and prove timed 200 yard swim and 50 yard butterfly.

However, many of the recent shows or classes have adult locations or minimum age requirements: 
1) Silverton Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada with 4,000 fish
2) Sip'n Dip Lounge, Great Falls, Montana which added mermaids to their live piano bar entertainment
3) Dive Bar Sacramento, CA, featuring merman 4) Hotel del Coronado, CA, $25 class for adults includes 45 minutes of core and cardio fitness while wearing a tail. 
5) Whitney M Young Magnet Schools, Laflin St., Chicago, by Aquamermaid Chicago, $60

Here's my suggestion - go to the original, the Weiki Wachee show debuted synchronized mermaid ballet in October 1947 as a road side attraction.  Weeki Wachee Springs State Park became a state park in 2008 and park entrance fee includes the show.  The park offers limited seating in an auditorium below the surface of the water;  go early!  Long hoses placed throughout the ground provide air to mermaids and mermaids perform to multiple songs.  We laughed as a turtle tried to get into the act.

I enjoyed the park so much that when I returned to Fort Lauderdale, I made the trip north on the highway to visit again.  This time I allocated more time for the park and waited in line for the Wilderness River Cruise.  Your entrance fee also includes this boat trip down the river.  We watched below for manatees and above for birds.  A separate article covers the many places you can see manatees in Florida.  If I had more time, I'd rent a kayak at the park.  There's so many ways to enjoy the water at Weeki Wachee Springs State Park.

Here's 3 other family friendly mermaid shows:
1) Downtown Aquarium, Denver Colorado, Mystic Mermaid Show, includes conservation messages, adults $20, children $14
2) Ripley's Aquarium Myrtle Beach, SC, mermaids swim along with sting rays and sharks on weekends, $23 adult, $17 child aquarium tickets; limited seating, go early!
2) Wreck Bar, Fort Lauderdale, FL, shipwreck scene and 30 min. show, featured in Analyze This movie, only two shows per week, go early!