Manatees

Ever since arriving in Florida I have wanted to see a Manatee up close, so I was really pleased when a friend invited me to go along with her to Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, (I thoroughly recommend  a visit if any of you are this way.)  Despite watching several wildlife programmes about these animals I was totally unprepared for their size, they are huge!  Surprisingly though despite appearances to the contrary they carry very little body fat and can catch a chill very easily, hence the reason they group together at the warm springs in Florida in the winter.  Much of their huge size is taken up by a huge gastrointestinal tract (accounting for 20% of their body mass) and lungs. Obviously such large lungs means the Manatee is very buoyant, to combat this the manatees bones are dense which means they are immensely heavy.  It also means, unfortunately that they are very brittle and shatter when hit.  We were told that most manatee deaths are caused not by props - the skins on their backs is 2 inches thick and damage caused by props isn't usually serious, they are killed more often than not by being hit by the prow of a boat which will cause the bones to shatter throughout the body.  Indeed they had one female there that had the use of only one lung as the other had been irreparably damaged by her ribs being shattered after being hit by a boat prow.  Manatees consume huge amounts of vegetation - between 10 - 15% of their bodyweight.  So a 1,000 pound manatee will eat anywhere between 100 to 150 pounds of food a day.  Surprisingly considering how docile and slow moving they are Alligators and Sharks don't touch them.  Can't work that one out myself as I couldn't imagine an easier meal if I was a large predator.  

Looking through the underwater observatory

View of a manatee with scars along it's back from a boat prop.

A large blue heron

I don't think I need to explain who, or what this is!  Perhaps surprisingly they are tasty to eat.  The meat is white, chicken like, but juicer and with a tang that is not unpleasant.

A Horned owl

Beauty the Golden Eagle has only one wing due to being shot by a poacher and then having to have it amputated.  How anyone could want to hurt anything so majestic is beyond me.

 Bald Eagle

Brown Pelicans, don't know why, but there is something fascinating about these birds, perhaps it's their ungainly appearance, but I can't help but watch them.  Especially at Cedar Key where they seem to be everywhere you look.  They especially seem to know when one of the boats has been fishing and sit waiting for tidbits.

Red tailed Hawks

Bald Eagles - believe me, these guys are somewhat on the large side, but have a soft call considering their size, or at least I think so.

A Florida Panther.  Beautiful creature.  I have actually been lucky enough to see one of these in the wild, leaving Cape Canaveral a few years ago it ran out of the woods on the side of the road, heading towards the road, before seeing the cars, skidding to a stop and heading back into the woods.

A bob cat

Ospreys nest

Blue Jay - so pretty, unfortunately I couldn't get a shot of him without the cage wire getting in the way.

To end with here is some film of dolphins/porpoises at Cedar Key.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1mOfBhWRzrOJuakunMvBOhjmFAKW2aynezA


I have been incredibly lucky, every time I have been to Cedar Key I have managed to see Dolphins or Porpoises, haven't seen a shark yet.  Apparently there are a few Bull sharks in the water.  Hope they don't make an appearance the day I decide to Kayak!