Manatee question (winter, good, husband)

[ShelbyGirl1]

Originally Posted by Racelady88

I forgot about this, but the South Florida Museum hosts Snooty and friends. They have a webcam on the manatee tank. Parker Manatee Aquarium (broken link)

OMG! Thank you! I see the "Snooty Cam" is not working at the moment, but I will be sure to check back!

[Big House]

Originally Posted by FLBob

I boat and fish all over this area. Manatees are everywhere. They can spend over 10 minutes at a time submerged and only stick their nose out of the water for a few moments before going back down.
On the move they come to the surface more frequently. So the best time to locate one is when they are on the move. Look for signs of them swimming, their tail flipper makes a distinctive circular mark on the water surface, a round area seen among the ripples.
Another way to locate the manatee is to listen for them when they take air.
I've had manatee hang around the boat while I fish. I'm frequently running on electric trolling motor and they just follow me around.
Spend time on the water, keep your eyes and ears alert and you'll see manatee.

Thanks for the information - we do not have manatee in the Chesapeake Bay where I boat most often. One actually traveled through a few years ago, and headed back south - it was a pretty big deal! I am looking to buy a house in PGI in the near future. I will use a lot of care around them when I boat. When I was down a couple months ago now, the Charlotte Harbor looked pretty cloudy - I'd imagine they'd be hard to spot there - I saw warning signs for them.

[FLBob]

Manatee are tough to see in stained water, like Charlotte Harbor and the back bays and rivers in the area. When traveling by boat I try to stay standing for better visibility. In shallow water where the manatee feed, they don't have much chance against a speeding boat so when traveling in water less than 6ft I slow down. I only go fast enough to stay on plane.

The local fish and wild life agent thinks the manatee signs are hazardous to the health of the manatee. While warning boaters of the risks they also attract more boaters who travel into protected waters looking to spot a manatee.

[True Brit]

My family were on a fishing trip out of Sarasota yesterday and they were convinced they saw a manatee.

[Big House]

Originally Posted by FLBob

Manatee are tough to see in stained water, like Charlotte Harbor and the back bays and rivers in the area. When traveling by boat I try to stay standing for better visibility. In shallow water where the manatee feed, they don't have much chance against a speeding boat so when traveling in water less than 6ft I slow down. I only go fast enough to stay on plane.

The local fish and wild life agent thinks the manatee signs are hazardous to the health of the manatee. While warning boaters of the risks they also attract more boaters who travel into protected waters looking to spot a manatee.

I always stand looking for things in the water. I almost never sit in my boat. I travel fast in open water, but most of the time I troll while fishing, and only travel 2-3 knots. I never speed in no wake zone areas either. I will always go slow if I know they'd be out and about. Especially until I know how to boat around them safely. I could see how some people would be out searching for them.

[lilaclady]

Originally Posted by ShelbyGirl1

Thanks so much for taking the time to ans. my question! I'll be sure to keep an eye out!

I'd love to hear about your 1st manatee sighting. Please come back and let us know. Manatees are a great creatures to see and watch.
They are so ugly they are cute.

www.savethemanatee.org is a great site. I adopted a manatee a year ago and just renewed.

[ShelbyGirl1]

Originally Posted by lilaclady

I'd love to hear about your 1st manatee sighting. Please come back and let us know. Manatees are a great creatures to see and watch.
They are so ugly they are cute.

www.savethemanatee.org is a great site. I adopted a manatee a year ago and just renewed.

Aw thanks! You can be sure I will be back to report!
Once again...thanks all for all the fabulous websites that have been sent to me..You guys are the best!

[ShelbyGirl1]

Originally Posted by lilaclady

I'd love to hear about your 1st manatee sighting. Please come back and let us know. Manatees are a great creatures to see and watch.
They are so ugly they are cute.

www.savethemanatee.org is a great site. I adopted a manatee a year ago and just renewed.

I've just adopted a Manatee named "Rosie". Hey...my name is Rosemary!

[lilaclady]

Here is one of the photos of the manatees I took while at TECO a couple of years ago.
It's not a great photo but it will give you an idea of how close you'll be to them.
Too bad the water is so murky!!

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c280/OfficeManager/Manatee%20Day/manatees10.jpg?t=1217872691 (broken link)

[ShelbyGirl1]

Thanks for the pic! I can't wait until this winter now! LOL....Never thought I'd say that! I've already informed my husband...we are making a stopover to see the manatees!