Re: [Paddlewise] Manatee

From: Al Vazquez <alvazquez_at_kayakguide.com>
Date: Mon, 31 Dec 2001 12:53:15 -0500
We live in on the Indian River Lagoon in Brevard County on the east coast of
central Florida. The Indian River Lagoon is the most biodiverse estuary in the
country with some 5000 species, one of which is our beloved manatee.

My wife and I had a very similar experience to Pat's while paddling the Banana
River at night during a gorgeous full moon.  One or more manatees repeatedly
lifted our plastic tandem Pamlico at least a foot into the air, as witnessed
by our son who watched the whole surprise episode from his single about 20
feet away.  While we didn't capsize, my wife in the bow was soaked thoroughly
and we had a good 3 inches of water in the boat when it ended.  It was a
blast!

Oh, and one other thing... if you haven't smelled manatee breath your really
haven't lived :-) Let me remind everyone again, however, that feeding or
intentionally feeding or harassing manatees is illegal as it can alter their
behavior in ways that can endanger them.
--

Al Vazquez
KayakGuide.com tm
the Place to Share Kayaking & Canoeing tm


***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed
here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire
responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author.
Submissions:     PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net
Subscriptions:   PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net
Website:         http://www.paddlewise.net/
***************************************************************************
Received on Mon Dec 31 2001 - 09:53:19 PST

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:30:48 PDT