I divided today’s post into two in order to honor the two most amazing features of this park, the spring, and the manatee.
The water from the spring is a constant 72-73 degrees and when the water in Florida’s rivers gets below 68 degrees, the manatees will seek refuge from the cold in the spring areas. Despite their large size, they have little fat and have difficulty keeping warm.
The manatee count at Blue Spring Park was 334 the day before we came. It can reach over a thousand in the peak cold months. There is no grass for feeding in the spring run so the animals go out into the St. John’s river to feed. They come back to the spring for warmth. Swimming, canoes and kayaks are allowed in the spring run in the summer but from November to March, the area belongs to the manatees. There is a nice boardwalk that goes along the run with multiple viewing areas.
Some of the manatees in the park are rescues from other areas and are brought to the spring after rehabilitation for release. Some of the orphan manatees have trouble feeding and lose weight. The park monitors them closely. We saw many adults with scars on their tails from propellers.
It was such a peaceful sight watching these creatures travel up and down the stream. Becca made her own count of 103 baby or juveniles manatees. She knows a lot about them. They don’t know their fathers but stay with their mothers for 1-2 years. They are herbivores that have to consume a lot of grass each day. They can weigh up to 1200 pounds and are more closely related to elephants than other sea mammals. They can hold their breath for 20 minutes when they are not active. Short bursts of speed are possible but overall they are slow which makes them at risk from boat propellers.
The spring was home to other creatures as well. Garfish, catfish (one invasive species), and tarpon were seen. Eagles, heron and anhinga diving birds were also spotted.
And this guy.
And this very engaged dog, whose owner was holding him up to see and giving him descriptions.
There was still time for picnic and a little tag and hide and seek, before we had to say goodbye to some of our favorite Floridians.
Thanks to Grace and David for photos.