Driving through the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge we found the one free place to view wildlife in the area. Lucky for us it was the manatee viewing deck.
The refuge is home to roughly 600 manatees or about a third of the total population (almost all the world's manatees live on the Florida coast). We tried to wrangle these incredible creatures onto film, but with our reflexes and shutter speed this was impossible. Manatees are air breathing and have to pop up every 2-4 minutes to suck up some air (or 20 minutes when they are inactive) but instead of posing, they stuck no more than their noses out of water and resubmerged as quickly as possible.
Several were feeling playful and spun in the water as they dove. The others, the lazy ones, actually looked like giant rocks.
Though camera wary they were a delight and a highlight to the drive and the day.
The refuge is home to roughly 600 manatees or about a third of the total population (almost all the world's manatees live on the Florida coast). We tried to wrangle these incredible creatures onto film, but with our reflexes and shutter speed this was impossible. Manatees are air breathing and have to pop up every 2-4 minutes to suck up some air (or 20 minutes when they are inactive) but instead of posing, they stuck no more than their noses out of water and resubmerged as quickly as possible.
Several were feeling playful and spun in the water as they dove. The others, the lazy ones, actually looked like giant rocks.
Though camera wary they were a delight and a highlight to the drive and the day.
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