There are plenty of things celebrated across the great state of Florida. There’s Disney World, every fast food chain imaginable, the nightlife of Miami, and of course, the beaches of the Keys. Adding further to this impressive list, the state contains the more obscure niches of performing mermaids in Weeki Wachee Springs as well as the rampant bikers cruising Daytona!
Yet in another pocket of Florida, there’s an obsession with manatees. And there are a number of Floridians who have dedicated their all to protecting these incredible species. After spending considerable time in the eastern hemisphere on the search for dugongs, it only felt right to go to the west and do the same with manatees.
Dugongs and manatees are mammals often confused due to their similar appearances, yet the species have certain distinctions. Dugongs, found in warm coastal waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, are strictly marine and primarily graze on seagrass in shallow bays. They are distinguished by their fluked tails, similar to those of whales, and their unique skull and mouth shape designed for bottom-feeding on seagrass.
Manatees, on the other hand, inhabit both freshwater and saltwater environments, including rivers, estuaries, and coastal areas mainly in the Atlantic Ocean around North and South America. They have rounded, paddle-shaped tails and are larger, with adults typically weighing between 800 to 1,200 pounds and reaching lengths of 9-10 feet. Manatees use their two forelimb flippers for steering and manipulating food, showcasing a more diverse diet including a variety of aquatic plants.
Behaviorally, both dugongs and manatees share maternal traits, with mothers solely responsible for raising their young and occasionally adopting abandoned calves. However, their social behaviors and interactions with humans differ. Manatees can be curious, which leads to dangerous encounters with boats and tourists. Congregating in springs during the winter months, it's possible to find manatees in the hundreds throughout Florida. But dugongs are slightly different, and much harder to spot in groups due to the lacking seagrass available for large groups. Elusive and shy, they are not often seen spending time around humans.
In 2023, Florida's manatees faced a dire situation, with alarming mortality rates drawing global attention. Several key factors contributed to this crisis but primarily, the manatees were starving to death from a severe shortage of seagrass, their main food source. Despite the protection of the manatees themselves, their critical habitat lacks similar safeguards—a problem not unique to Florida.
The Panhandle's ecosystems, vital to their survival, were besieged by escalating water pollution and deadly "red tide" algae blooms, decimating the seagrass beds. Additionally, the threat of boat strikes reached unprecedented levels, exacerbated by Florida's growing population of 22 million residents and the influx of 135 million tourists annually, putting these gentle giants at even greater risk.
During Florida's peak manatee season, our team met with emerging marine scientists and naturalists dedicated to the preservation of these remarkable creatures. Among them, Tiare Fridrich, (aka TJ), has been integral to the efforts of Save the Manatee Club for three years. This nonprofit organization is committed to their long-term protection, established back in 1981 by Jimmy Buffet and the state Governor at the time, Bob Graham. TJ, who found her way into this vital work by chance and luck, now plays a crucial role in researching and implementing strategies to safeguard these marine mammals across the state.
“It was devastating to report that last year we lost nearly 1,000 manatees. We saw the community come together for these creatures after that loss. But there’s so much more that we can do,” TJ shared with us as we stand-up paddled along the Crystal River—one of the top places to spot manatees during Florida's winter months. “The reason I do the work that I do is not just for the manatees, but for the total ecosystem. In order to protect the manatees, we have to protect the places and spaces they call home.”
TJ is a fountain of knowledge when it comes to manatees, sharing fact after fact, which we were loving. For example, did you know that manatees’ teeth, also known as "marching molars," are designed to move forward in their mouths and fall out as they wear down? This migration of their molars from back to front is actually a necessary adaptation for their diet. And remarkably, manatees possess sensory hairs—3,000 on their body and 2,000 on their face—allowing them to navigate and explore their environment through touch rather than sight.
But the other thing she was incredibly attuned to was the designated, state-wide sanctuaries, like Crystal River. Manatees exhibit high site fidelity in the winter months, with populations staying within specific areas of the state managed by conservation zones and sanctuaries. As part of her role at Save the Manatee Club, she’s been monitoring how these designated areas are supporting the preservation of manatees throughout Florida.
The thing is, even with sanctuaries and conservation zones in place, tourists (and many residents) are very unaware of how to behave around these species. The Marine Mammal Protection Act, while prohibiting harassment of marine animals, presents a gray area when it comes to manatees. Their protections are not as clearly specified as those of whales, and this has led to confusion when it comes to crossing paths with these creatures. For example, there's no specific distance rule for manatees, leading to public misconceptions about the legality of touching, swimming with, or being too close to them. This lack of clear guidelines has been something TJ and her team are specifically focused on, alongside the eco-tour operators and naturalists in the Panhandle region.
TJ collaborates regularly with Taylor Masnjak, the co-owner of Get Up and Go Weeki Wachee, one of the most successful tour businesses in the area. With a 5.0 customer rating on Google and close to 2,500 reviews, this clear kayaking operator is doing something right, and has worked with TJ to set the gold standard in how to observe manatees in the wild appropriately. Taylor's company is certified under the Save the Manatee Club’s Guardian Guides Program, which is a voluntary certification for ecotourism providers that promote sustainable eco-tourism and stewardship of manatees. The overall goal of Guardian Guides is to reduce harassment of manatees by ecotourism companies by providing training on manatee life history, conservation and manatee manners to their staff.
The biggest thing this duo has established is the importance of maintaining a respectful distance from manatees in their natural habitat. Manatees, with their limited body fat, struggle to stay warm in colder waters, leading to congregations during winter months. This behavior, often misunderstood by onlookers, is a survival strategy to combat cold stress, similar to hypothermia in humans. Interaction with humans can inadvertently drain the energy manatees need to maintain their warmth and find food, highlighting why respectful distance is crucial.
TJ and Taylor both recommend that if you encounter a manatee, you should speak quietly to avoid startling them and maintain a distance of at least two kayak lengths. Manatees are highly sensitive thanks to the sensory hairs covering their bodies, and can detect nearby humans much more easily than one would assume. It's vital to grant them an appropriate amount of space to engage in essential behaviors like feeding and warming. Despite their friendly appearance, manatees still are wild animals, demanding our respect and consideration.
This goes for boaters too. Unlike other mammals, manatee rib bones lack marrow, making them exceptionally dense and heavy. And this density increases when manatees are injured by boat strikes, one of their greatest threats. After a boat strike, a manatee’s bones heal and recalcify, which creates too much buoyancy and results in swimming difficulties. Astonishingly, 90% of manatees bear scars from boat strikes, with one in four experiencing multiple collisions over their lifetime. Boaters need to familiarize themselves with manatee protection zones and remain vigilant in shallow feeding areas, as this can help minimize strikes and disturbances.
Since manatees can be hard to spot, with only their "footprints" or breath indicating their presence, boaters should always have a spotter on board to avoid accidental encounters. Following manatees or causing them to alter their behavior is considered harassment and should be avoided to ensure their protection and well-being. With about 1,000 new human residents arriving daily, many are unaware of the state's manatee population and the boating regulations designed to protect them. Contrary to popular belief, it's not just propeller injuries, but blunt force trauma from boat collisions that poses the greatest danger, often leading to critical or fatal injuries to their ribs.
With Florida's growing population, the challenge intensifies, especially since older residents are not required to have a boater's license or any specific education on safe boating practices. Efforts to incorporate more comprehensive manatee and safe boating information into the state-approved courses have been ongoing, but changes in legislation and course content require government approval. Collaborations with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission aim to enhance the current curriculum with detailed manatee zone regulations and safe boating practices.
Additionally, partnerships with county governments have been fruitful, with initiatives to educate marina operators and boaters on manatee safety, seagrass protection, and compliance with speed zones showing promise. These efforts are complemented by the installation of new signage, crucial for informing residents and visitors about how to coexist safely with Florida's manatees.
Taylor and TJ took us to a spring system named Idiot's Delight 1 & 2 on the Crystal River. Wondering how it got the name, it didn’t take long to figure it out. Paddling up to the spot, there were quite literally HUNDREDS of people swimming in the 72 degree Fahrenheit water trying to get a glimpse of the huddled manatees in their tiny, roped off sanctuary zone.
We got in the water. We wanted to see what it was like. But it didn’t take long for us to promptly remove ourselves, as it was clear these animals needed space. It just didn’t feel right. With volunteers on the water monitoring behavior, it still didn’t feel like enough was being done to protect these animals from the delighted idiots in the water. That’s where TJ wants to go deeper in her work—putting more regulations in place alongside people like Taylor who are controlling the flow of traffic to places like this. Simply put: the Guardian Guides program needs to expand even further and there’s a need for further education to those living and coming to Florida when it comes to manatee science and conservation.
"There's a lot we don't know about manatees, and that's exactly what makes them so fascinating," TJ shared, her enthusiasm evident. "Often dubbed the underdogs or even the black sheep of the marine mammal world, manatees don't quite capture the same attention as whales, dolphins, or even sea lions. Unlike these widely celebrated species, manatees are largely unique to Florida and below, making them somewhat of a regional curiosity rather than a global icon. Despite this, our community is dedicated to manatee conservation; and though small, we are fiercely committed. It's true that many who venture into marine biology might not initially prioritize manatees, but the dedication of those who do is unwavering.”
And this is exactly why manatees have a future here. TJ and Taylor, alongside their colleagues and collaborators, represent the vanguard of this movement. This tight-knit group of enthusiasts, scientists, tour operators and volunteers, through daily dedication and a deep love for these marine mammals, is setting a precedent for effective conservation. They show us that targeted, passionate efforts can lead the charge in safeguarding our planet's remarkable species against the backdrop of environmental adversity.
Planning your next trip to Florida? We’ve got a single recommendation: skip Disney World and head to Weeki Wachee. Here, you can meet Taylor and experience the magic of manatees in the right, safe and sustainable way. You’ll thank us later.
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