Swimming with the Manatees

There seems be whole bunch of whop la on this subject. I spend all weekend all winter doing "Manatee Watch" at Homosassa Springs next to the State Park. So I have perhaps had the opportunity to make a few observations as regards "behavior".

If everyone "behaved" according to the published rules the resting Manatee's would have few problems. The tour Captains (yes they are USCG "Masters") do their best to keep everyone from disturbing the Manatee's. And rest assured the majority of "swimmers" are not from the tour boats.

Basically it's real simple, some manatees, sometimes like to play and get SCRACHED... The rest and the rest of the time they just want to sleep. The problem is most of time they just want to sleep. And when the swimmers are feeling the chill of the 72 degree water getting to them and they have had no chance to touch a Manatee, it's just difficult to resist. Clearly the Manatee's need a sufficient area and water depth of warm spring water set aside just for them to rest in. It is doubtful that complete isolation would serve the Manatee in the long run. The opportunity for and value of education of the public cannot be underestimated. If we have learned anything in the efforts to save species that have both succeeded and failed in the past it is the value of public education.

As to whether the Manatee are "learning" not to be afraid of humans. The Manatee seems to have little or no, and I do emphasis "NO" natural sense of fear. Nor do they seem willing to adopt a sense fear as a way of life, just to suite our way of explaining things. We do better justice for the Manatee when we stop projecting our own human emotional reactions upon them. I've watched individuals whom have absolutely no interest in getting scratched or interacting with humans swim down stream at feeding time and just drift asleep 18" below the surface right in middle of the channel. Who wishes to call that learned behavior?