Swimming with Manatees

Okay so to start off: 12/10 would recommend swimming with manatees. It was incredible. And hear me out⁠—going in December is actually a really good time. When temperatures get cooler, the manatees in Florida start flocking by the hundreds to hot springs. Most notable is Crystal River, home to Crystal Springs. Here you can swim back in the hot springs and along the small channels in warmer weather, but have to stick to the main river and inlets in the winter because the manatees are packed flipper to flipper the farther in you go. 

There are dozens of manatee tours you can take if you don’t personally own a boat and they provide you with a wetsuit to help keep you warm, goggles and snorkels for underwater viewing, and pool noodles so you’re not exhausted after five minutes (although the wet suit itself kept me rather buoyant). You usually spend around an hour swimming in the 70 degrees Fahrenheit water. Any longer than that and you’ll get too cold (and waterlogged). As much as I enjoyed the experience, I was definitely ready to get back on the boat after an hour due to cold bones and persistent worries. I enjoy swimming but being in water has me worried the whole time that something is going to come eat me from one of my many blind spots. I’m also not a particularly strong swimmer which inhibits my hypothetical escape plans.

Jumping in, the temperature shocked me a little but it didn’t take too long to get acclimated. Immediately after sticking my head under the water I spotted dozens of manatees swimming lazily through the water ranging in size from a large dog to a small sedan but all more rotund and gray. I had been assured at least eight times that manatees are some of the most docile creatures you can encounter, and while I did believe this, it didn’t stop my heart from racing when a manatee four times the size of me started floating up from the murky depths below. I was frantically trying to flatten myself up at the surface of the water and move to the side so I wouldn’t be laying on top of it (seemed like that might be grounds for immediate removal from the river). After I had calmed down I started laughing because I’m sure I looked ridiculous. You are allowed to touch the manatees if they approach you and I did on occasion⁠—noting the tough, leathery skin speckled with barnacles. My favorites were probably the babies, or calves. They were less intimidating and more active. One of them liked to spin in front of my face and swim in circles around me. It was fascinating to see child-like behaviors from a creature that feels so unusual but is essentially the equivalent of an aquatic cow. 

American manatees are currently listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Redlist. They are subject to global warming, eutrophication, habitat destruction, fishing, and human recreational activities like boating. With proper regulations and education, guided tours that allow visitors to swim with manatees can increase the likelihood that people will be willing to help protect them. One of the keys to conservation is developing personal connections between humans and nature—which is definitely something I gained snorkeling with these gentle giants.