Manatees

Yesterday my family and I for our last day in Florida took a boat trip through Tarpon Bay which is on the other side of the Island from which we are staying. We are staying on the Gulf side. The day before we took a tram in the same area and saw lots of birds, racoons, and some alligators. It is all part of the Ding Darling Preserve and Wildlife Refuge here on Sanibel. Staying on an Island for over a week has been kind of crazy. But yesterday on the boat was the coolest. They offer a night cruise which is an hour and a half boat ride to the end of the bay and back. Along the way we again saw many birds as they fly into the bay to rest on the weed-like trees that grow in the center. Ibis, egrets, osprey, pelicans feeding themselves and their babies. It was a very nice treat. As we turned around however, people began sighting dolphins, their sleek bodies rising out of the water for a millisecond of exhale and inhale and back under water. They proceeded to follow the boat-at a fairly safe distance for quite some time. After the dolphins people began to ask what the big brown things were poking up from the water. Our guide asked us to look to see if was snout and coconut like which, it was. She told us they were Manitees. Although we couldn't see them up close at one point they must have been scared because five or sick of them reared up out of the water and floated through the air, through mists of ocean for fifty yards or so, giving a good view of the outlines of their bodies. We also saw many noses/snouts and backs/bellies gliding through the water. It was so cool. And as the woman said since it is a refuge it's not as though they can guarantee sightings like those, not every tour sees manatees and dolphins, so we were lucky. She said if you want the sure thing go to Sea World, they lift curtain and show you the animal. So this was cool to see them just doing what they would normally do in a somewhat man-preserved bay. She also said there are sharks, and sting rays and sometimes gators although gator only feed in fresh water so they don't often swim into the bay which is packed full of salt. So while I don't like to rely on biology for explanations, it was really neat to see and hear about nature-I'm not sure how "natural" it really is, but it was very neat all the same.