Last month, I fulfilled a long-held wish to see the West Indian Manatee in its natural habitat, the various rivers and lakes and hot springs of central and southern Florida. It was a wild success. A friend and I drove two kayaks to the Crystal River and got on the water at a public park put-in about a mile from Three Sisters Springs. It was both early and quite cold—the best conditions for seeing the manatees. The water from the springs stays a constant temperature all year round (still fairly cold to us, just not to them), and they congregate during the winter months to keep their body … [Read more...]