Unfortunately there are very few Manatees in Manatee because of the low water levels, but the park itself is a water color painting in the making. The spring boils up at 72 degrees spilling 50 to 150 million gallons of fresh water per day. The Manatees (usually) come up the short creek from the Suwannee River in the colder weather to hang out in the warm boil and feed on the grasses along the shore. The boil (where the water comes out of the spring) is 25 feet deep but at low tide these days, the creek is only 1 foot deep, to shallow for the large female Manatees to swim in and out. The Suwannee river and Manatee spring move up and down with the gulf tide just a few miles or more down stream. We check the boil at high tide to see if they have moved in but so far, no luck. Along with the Manatee, there are large flocks of Black Vultures and Turkey Vultures, hanging out to enjoy the warmth from the spring.
The ranger told us when we signed in that there were a few Manatee in the spring the day before we came in. Gary thinks this is what they say to keep the tourists coming. But on our last day in the park on a walk to the river, I spotted two Manatees just outside the entrance to the spring.
This area is filled with sink holes that are connected to the springs via underground chambers. The last two days we have seen divers in the Catfish sink near the campground, named for the many Catfish swimming in the water that tease the divers. Deep underground in the caves the Catfish are white. It seems odd to see divers getting into a pool that is just 20 feet wide but they are able to dive very deep into the underground caves that connect several sinks in the area. The apparatus that divers use today to propel themselves forward in the water quickly, were first perfected in this area of Florida to explore the sinks and connecting caves.
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