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| RQ0672-D. underwater photo of friendly Florida Manatee in Crystal River, Florida |
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The seas are filled with wonderful creatures. So are the world's freshwater systems. Few animals move back and forth between salty and sweet.
Manatees, of the Sirenian tribe, do so with grace and style. I've made many photo trips to west central Florida's Crystal River area to photograph our country's only sirenian, Trichechus manatus latirostris, the endearing, and endangered, manatee. Technically these individuals are a subspecies of the West Indian manatee. They are gray, fat, and just about the coolest marine mammal the non-hardcore diver or snorkeler is likely to meet up-close and personal. In winter months, hundreds of these gentle creatures move from the coastal seagrass beds in the Gulf of Mexico, into Crystal River and its tributaries to rest and feed in the warmer springfed freshwater. On a cold morning, it's not uncommon to find ten or twenty huddled together in the shallow water, sleeping and socializing, staying warm and occasionally swimming right up to you to say hello.
Our
manatee photos have been published all over the world, illustrating magazine articles, appearing in advertisements, gracing billboards and book covers, calendars and cards. To see more
underwater pictures of Florida Manatees, please visit our web site. We will be happy to help with licensing requests. Select prints are also available for purchase.
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