We have had warmer temperatures this last week and yesterday after returning to the marina from a less than successful fishing trip we were surprised to see our manatee buddy from the other day back with 5 or six of his friends. Our buddy was easily recognized by the scars on his body and cut tail, but his friends did not seemed to be as marked up as he was which is probably a good sign.
Our neighbor is a skindiver and has enjoyed going to an area called "the horseshoe" which is an area nearby that was dredged out for fill and has become a good place to fish from shore and dive. On his last dive he was fortunate enough to swim with a manatee and its youngster for some time without alarming them.....even allowing him to "pet" the young one. Unfortunately, his wife wasn't able to get a picture.