deliriouslove1970. The life & times of Gary and Denise Flanders. (Free and worth every penny. If you would like to compliment the editor, send to garytheflan@deliriouslove1970.com. If you would like to complain, call your mother.)

The life and times of Denise & Gary Flanders

Manatee Rescue

We took a little jaunt to Blue Spring State Park in Florida to see if we could see some Manatees in the wild.

Besides being ‘photo bombed’ by a toddler…
We only found two in the blue spring. The St John’s River runs directly past Blue Spring. The spring is similar to a cul de sac which has a natural hot spring keeping the water temperature at a constant 72 degrees. When the St John’s is too cold hundreds of Manatees swim into Blue Spring to keep warm and find food.

A friendly volunteer Docent (Hooray for volunteers) told us to see this sign and to stick around for something special.

Once a year, sometimes less, the groups involved in rescuing Manatees around Florida after a period of rehabilitation and assurance they can live back in the wild release them.

Sea World is one of the facilities that has led the way in Manatee rehabilitation.

Transporting and making sure a Manatee is safe is a major operation.

There are 9 different organizations involved in monitoring Manatees in Florida.

A Manatee must weigh a minimum of 700 pounds before they are released back into the water.

We never thought that we would be this close to a Manatee when we decided to come today.

Each Manatee is completely measured and all statistics are recorded before the release.

They are fitted with a monitor that records data for 3 months or more. They are tracked for location to see if they are in warm water and finding good food sources.

Next comes the task of moving a 700 pound animal into the water.

At least 12 people are needed to safely carry Ashley.

At the moment the path to the water involves 7 steps. The Blue Spring Volunteer group has raised the funds to construct a concrete path with no steps. Work on the new ramp begins within a week. (Hooray for Volunteers.)

Down the steps Ashley goes.

Ashley is in Blue Spring.

Sea World brought 3 Manatees, the 4th came from Zoo Tampa. In this truck is Calliope, a bit of a ‘hefty’ young lady weighing in at 1,100 pounds.

Calliope decided she was more comfortable on her back. After measurements and securing the monitor she is rolled over.

After the crew carried Calliope down those steps she is released in Blue Spring. If you look closely just to the left of the young lady in the blue shirt you can see Calliope’s tracking monitor bobbing in the water.

Now that was a ‘BoyHowdy’ day at Blue Spring State Park.

Gary & Denise Flanders

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