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Swimming & Kayaking with Manatees
I had read about a kayaking tour with manatees in Crystal River, Florida in Nat Geo Adventures Magazine. While looking into it I found out that Crystal River is the only place in the world where you can legally swim with them!
More at http://michaelwtravels.blogspot.com/...s-crystal.html **This trip report has been updated!!! |
Saying it's illegal to swim with manatees would be like saying it's illegal to go hiking with squirrels. It's not something they can regulate. Manatees are wild animals and are free to swim wherever they wish, and that sometimes includes places where people swim. It's illegal to feed them, approach them, water them, and to harass them - and FWC will write tickets - but not just to be in the water in the vicinity of them. It's not like we have designated manatee-free swimming areas with underwater manatee-proof fences or anything. Sometimes they'll even come up to you and want a belly rub (which is frowned upon).
Crystal River is, however, the only place with legal swim-with-manatees tours. They can't do that commercially anywhere else. And it's the only place where they have a monitored area set aside for it to make sure people do it safely and follow the rules. Crystal River is one of the top few on my list of must-kayak places this winter. I've never been myself but it looks really cool. I just wanted to set the record straight just in case some tourist read this and thought they had to immediately vacate the water if a manatee showed up while they were swimming someplace else in Florida. Not that I don't enjoy messing with the tourists like any good Floridian :) http://www.fws.gov/northflorida/Rele...ent-031207.htm http://www.savethemanatee.org/Tips.htm |
Lovely photos. That reminds me that I ought to find the difference between manatees and dugongs.
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Originally Posted by realjd
(Post 17533702)
Saying it's illegal to swim with manatees would be like saying it's illegal to go hiking with squirrels. It's not something they can regulate. Manatees are wild animals and are free to swim wherever they wish, and that sometimes includes places where people swim. It's illegal to feed them, approach them, water them, and to harass them - and FWC will write tickets - but not just to be in the water in the vicinity of them. It's not like we have designated manatee-free swimming areas with underwater manatee-proof fences or anything. Sometimes they'll even come up to you and want a belly rub (which is frowned upon).
Crystal River is, however, the only place with legal swim-with-manatees tours. They can't do that commercially anywhere else. And it's the only place where they have a monitored area set aside for it to make sure people do it safely and follow the rules. Crystal River is one of the top few on my list of must-kayak places this winter. I've never been myself but it looks really cool. I just wanted to set the record straight just in case some tourist read this and thought they had to immediately vacate the water if a manatee showed up while they were swimming someplace else in Florida. Not that I don't enjoy messing with the tourists like any good Floridian :) http://www.fws.gov/northflorida/Rele...ent-031207.htm http://www.savethemanatee.org/Tips.htm From my readings into the topic of swimming with manatees, like I state- Crystal River is the only place where it is legal to do so. I did not say if you swim with manatees in Trinidad the police will show up and take you in... As for interacting with manatees, it is totally fine to do so as long as you are not chasing/ harassing them. I highly recommend the guide that I used. She is very much involved in the manatee cause in Crystal River and had no problem with us touching a manatee but did tell us in advance & asked other snorkelers to not swim/ go after them... Our kayak guide IS not for swimming with manatees but did recommend our guide actually if you choose to do so. He is a naturalist with lots of info about the area and also offers kayak tours of other parts of FL. I also would definitely recommend him if you plan to kayak in the future! |
Originally Posted by FluffyBunnyFuFu
(Post 17534193)
Lovely photos. That reminds me that I ought to find the difference between manatees and dugongs.
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Originally Posted by MLW20
(Post 17536690)
Your comments are a bit rough around the edges but so be it if that is your approach to things...
From my readings into the topic of swimming with manatees, like I state- Crystal River is the only place where it is legal to do so. I did not say if you swim with manatees in Trinidad the police will show up and take you in... As for interacting with manatees, it is totally fine to do so as long as you are not chasing/ harassing them. I highly recommend the guide that I used. She is very much involved in the manatee cause in Crystal River and had no problem with us touching a manatee but did tell us in advance & asked other snorkelers to not swim/ go after them... Our kayak guide IS not for swimming with manatees but did recommend our guide actually if you choose to do so. He is a naturalist with lots of info about the area and also offers kayak tours of other parts of FL. I also would definitely recommend him if you plan to kayak in the future! As for the legality, Crystal Springs is the only place in FL where swimming with manatees is both monitored and encouraged and they offer guided tours. Anywhere else in Florida, it's technically legal but you're at the mercy of the FWC cops and their individual definition of "harassment". The websites strongly encourage people to avoid interaction with manatees, but that doesn't mean it's illegal as long as you are careful. The unwritten rule seems to be that if you're swimming or kayaking and a manatee approaches you (they're incredibly curious and friendly), some interaction is OK, just don't "harass" it, which usually means approach yourself, chase, follow, ride, feed, etc. Thanks for the link to the tour guide! I was planning on just taking my own kayaks, but I don't get out to the west coast of FL very often and a guided tour sounds interesting, especially with the positive review. Plus my car gets crappy mileage with two kayaks strapped on top so the tour may pay for itself! |
Originally Posted by realjd
(Post 17538207)
I apologize if I came across as rough. I wasn't trying to be insulting, just mildly humorous. It looks like you had a really awesome trip and I want to go do something similar. I was honestly just trying to clarify for any other visitors reading that they don't need to immediately vacate the waters if a manatee shows up while they are swimming, which isn't uncommon at many of the other springs in Central Florida.
As for the legality, Crystal Springs is the only place in FL where swimming with manatees is both monitored and encouraged and they offer guided tours. Anywhere else in Florida, it's technically legal but you're at the mercy of the FWC cops and their individual definition of "harassment". The websites strongly encourage people to avoid interaction with manatees, but that doesn't mean it's illegal as long as you are careful. The unwritten rule seems to be that if you're swimming or kayaking and a manatee approaches you (they're incredibly curious and friendly), some interaction is OK, just don't "harass" it, which usually means approach yourself, chase, follow, ride, feed, etc. Thanks for the link to the tour guide! I was planning on just taking my own kayaks, but I don't get out to the west coast of FL very often and a guided tour sounds interesting, especially with the positive review. Plus my car gets crappy mileage with two kayaks strapped on top so the tour may pay for itself! If you plan to do a manatee kayak trip, make sure to also do a snorkel. The guide I used has her own pontoon boat & is reasonably priced. Please do not do a group tour! Have a trip that is tailored for you and your needs! The kayak was totally awesome but you won't get as close to the manatees- they can be swimming under you and you'll never know unless another kayaker tells you... I also suggest you do the snorkel trip on day 1 followed by the kayaking. Have a great time and please let me know how it goes if you do the trip! |
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