Since I had never done a manatee tour, I thought it would be a fun weekend getaway. Kaitlin and I booked reservations with Florida Manatee Tours in Crystal River, FL. Because the weather had been warmer recently, the manatees were hanging out in the bay, where visibility is low, and weren’t in the spring area like they traditionally are. We did catch one in clear enough water to film, so I embedded the video.
If you turn up the volume and listen carefully, you can actually hear the manatee chomping away at the sea grass. Manatees are almost always eating, as they get over 1500lbs, and need to eat 10% of their body weight each day. Since baby manatees are fed milk form the mother, they don’t have to worry with eating such large amounts of food, so they’re more likely to play, since they have all this spare time on their hands!