We've Adopted!
By Laura Brennan
An East Coast Region Project
The Park serves as a rehabilitation center and refuge for manatees that have been orphaned or injured. Five manatees that live in the park are considered unreleasable and call the park home. They are the ones that are up for "adoption". Manatees use Blue Springs State Park as a wintering ground. They remain here from November to September. Twenty-two manatees in the adoption program call the park home.
~About Manatees~
The West Indian manatee is a large, gray-brown aquatic mammal. They have a seal like body that tapers to a flat, paddle-shaped tail. They have flipper on the upper body and their faces are wrinkled. Their snouts have stiff whiskers. Adults can reach a length of 10 feet and weigh 800 - 1200 pounds; babies are 4 feet and weigh 60-70 pounds.
Manatees spend most of their time feeding, anywhere from 6-8 hrs a day, and resting 2-12 hrs a day. They graze for food along the bottom and on the surface. They rest submerged at the bottom coming up to breathe every 3-5 minutes, depending on their activity level. Some have been known to remain submerged up to 20 minutes while resting. Manatees are herbivores feeding on a variety of submerged and floating plants. They can consume about 100 pounds of vegetation daily. Seagrass beds are important feeding sites, many of which are vulnerable to destruction.
The range of the manatee is primarily in Florida. Manatees are susceptible to cold and in winter they congregate near natural springs of warm water. Between March and November manatees migrate freely around Fl rivers and coastal waters.
Manatees belong to the scientific Order Sirenia, which means siren. There are 5 species all together. They include Amazonian Manatees, West African manatee, west Indian Manatee, Dugong found in the Indo-Pacific region and Stellar's Sea Cow which were found in the arctic waters of the Bering Strait. Unfortunately the Stellar's Sea Cow was hunted to extinction within 27 years of its discovery in 1741. The largest sighting on record was the Stealer's sea cow. It measured 30 feet long and weighed 3 1/2 tons. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources listed the remaining species as endangered or vulnerable.
Amanda
The East Coast chapter of Mothers Torch has adopted one of the Hommosassa Spring manatees. Keeping the Highlander image we adopted a female named Amanda. She was rescued on Christmas Day in 1973 after been badly injured by a motorboat propeller. When she was rescued she had a young calf with her. Calves are dependent on their mothers for up to 2 years. Both were taken to Miami Seaquarium rehabilitation. They were brought to Homosassa State Park on July 14, 1986. When visiting the park Amanda can be easily identify by the scars on her right side. She is described as sweet and affectionate and quiet a ham. She comes to the education programs and "smiles" for them by lifting her head out of the water and wiggling her top lip.
To get in touch with Save the Manatee Club write: Save the Manatee Club, Inc 500 N Maitland Ave Maitland, FL 32751 1-800-432-JOIN (5646)
Or contact them on the net at: Save the Manatee Club, Inc.
E-mail - membership@savethemanatee.org
