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Wednesday, November 04, 2009

How do you photograph a 500lb sea cow?




Actually, you don't really photograph them. Over weekend, my Honey and I spent a few days of R&R on Florida's nature coast. We did some kayaking and swimming (really floating) with the manatees. Very intriguing beasts. At birth, the pups weigh 30kg and can the females (who tend to be bigger) can reach up to 1 000kg.

There was a definite kinship or perhaps curiosity felt between Mr. Hippo and these animals. He was the manatee magnet. Perhaps they are drawn to his whiskers! One of the pups even took a gentle nibble of his toes (which is very common) and he rubbed the tummy of another. Another young male nearly kissed me as seen in this video. What the manatees get out of this human socialization is a mystery but for this human, it was a very magical.