Wednesday, January 20, 2010

St John's River and manatees


I really enjoy being on the St. John's river in the winter. I loved watching these things Mum called Manatees. She would not let me swim in the river though, she said there are too many scary things which may hurt me, but the manatees would not.  The manatees come to springs when it is cool out along the river.
 

Blue Spring State Park
The largest spring on the St. Johns River, Blue Spring is a designated Manatee Refuge and the winter home (mid-November through March) to a growing population of West Indian Manatees. The spring´s crystal clear, 73´degree water can be enjoyed by swimmers, snorkelers, and certified scuba divers with a partner.
(but not dogs!))Swimming or diving with manatees is not permitted and is strictly enforced.






The Manatees will come right up to the boat and look at us. That was way cool!
Coming for a fresh drink of water ....



Scampi pretended they did not exist, the silly dog!
 
 baby manatee swimming by

16 comments:

Dexter said...

Hey! Those things are HUGE! I think it is just as well that no doggies go in the water with them. One head butt and it would be over for sure.

Slobbers,
Mango

The 'splorin' Wolfies said...

oh my God. Kira you are just sitting there like you see them everyday! BOL

Steve, Kat, & Wilbur said...

Wow, I can't believe the manatees came so close to the boat! Way cool! Did you see any alligators?

Steve

♥♥ The OP Pack ♥♥ said...

How can you be so calm, Kira? We would want to get those big things - do they taste good?

Woos, Phantom and Thunder

NAK and The Residents of The Khottage Now With KhattleDog! said...

How khool!

I bet they would be khwite fun to play with!

Hugz&Khysses,
Khyra
PeeEssWoo: Mom was just showing The Doggy Nanny your pics - she and Fred are headed to Florieduh next week so she's been watching the temps fur her pakhking especially since they don't return until early/mid-March!

The Oceanside Animals said...

I have to send this to my mom -- she loves manatees!

ScrapsofMe said...

We have manatees too! Puffy loves em....he is always trying to get in the water with them. They are very gentle. There is a big power plant near us and the manatees come up in the winter and stay near the warm water outlet. We have a huge manatee viewing center about 2 miles from our house. They come up in our canal all the time. I, on the other hand, see no reason to get into water for any reason. A roll in mud, yes. Washing the mud off...no.
Great pictures of the manatess, it's hard to get good photos cuz of the reflections on the water.

sniffies,
Bonnie

Cheryl, Indiana, Shingo and Molly said...

That is just too cool! We love the pictures of the manatees right at the boat!!

Woofs and Kisses!
The Fiesty Three
http://fiestythree.blogspot.com

The Adventures of the LLB Gang said...

Way cool Kira!!

Smileys!
Dory

The Army of Four said...

Wowzers! What great pix! I've never seen manatees before. Did you stare at them? I sure would! How cool!
Play bows,
Zim

Mochi and Bali said...

Cool! I would be so excited to see them!

Great pictures! :)

Mochi

Martha said...

We had never heard of manatees - they look awesome!
What adventures you have!
Great pics. Thank you for letting us see them - we are learning new things every day.
love and kisses
Martha & Bailey xxx

Yas said...

Whoooaa..pawesome!
Thanks for the lovely tour!

Cheers,
Maxx

Two French Bulldogs said...

Those big balls of blubber are so cute
Benny & Lily

Anonymous said...
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Jack & Moo said...

Woooo,those are Summi-sized!!! We don't have any of those here in our ocean, but I wish we did, they're furry interesting. That is such a khool pic of woo on the boat & the manatees swimming up fur a drink!

a-roos to yous,
jack a-roo