01/27/2025 ICW Day 27 : Manatee Jacuzzi

This morning, we set out for the manatee viewing platform we’d spotted on our map. Our friend Stan Hooper had also mentioned it, so it felt like a destination we couldn’t skip. The cove was shallow, forcing us to paddle in quietly, searching for the slothful creatures. Yet, despite the effort, the manatees remained hidden in this pristine cove. We left with a sense of quiet disappointment.

Later, as we crossed the bay to pick up groceries, a favorable breeze carried us toward a landing—but not before we passed a looming power plant. It was here that I noticed shadows moving beneath the surface and asked Captain Janet to adjust our course.

Gliding closer, we found ourselves amidst a gathering of manatees, but the encounter was far from serene. Startled by our presence, one manatee’s panic rippled through the group, setting off a chaotic frenzy. The once-still water churned violently, and heavy thuds bumped our boat’s underbelly as the massive creatures collided with the hull. Our vessels weight matches that of an adult manatee, and at that moment it felt like the plastic toy held together by rubber bands that it is. The manatees had been relaxing in the effluvium from the power plant - a manatee jacuzzi.

While thrilling, the experience left me pondering... I couldn’t shake the irony; how we live in an upside down world. We must now seek “wild” animals in the most unnatural places. To see manatees, we follow the outflow of a power plant. To glimpse condors, we scatter carrion. The best place to find a bear? In a dumpster or maybe having broken through a window into someone’s house. The wild has not necessarily disappeared, but so much of it has been displaced. Is it still wild, or is it like much of the rest of our lives - tamed and largely under human control?