January 30, 2025 • 23 mins
Southern Florida is home to an aquatic gentle giant: THE MANATEE.
But how much do we really know about this wondering benign behemoth?
Noodles and I dive deep into the warm springs, rivers and tributaries of Florida to research this fascinating creature.
As always we'll answer listener questions at the end, which include:
- Who or what did you learn to appreciate after research for the sun records episode?
- Can you keep plants alive in your van?
- What’s the best hike you’ve done?
- Did you get to visit any other petroglyph locations while in Utah?
Works Cited:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/1373656?searchText=florida+manatees&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dflorida%2Bmanatees%26so%3Drel&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A78fba27a60e9b2b6ca9f6a42fb5cfa7b&seq=1
https://www.leegov.com/parks/parks/manateepark
https://www.mmc.gov/priority-topics/species-of-concern/florida-manatee/
https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/marine-mammals/mermaids-manatees-myth-and-reality
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/columbus-mistakes-manatees-for-mermaids
Noah and Noodles here!
We want to extend a heartfelt thanks to every listener of Backroad Odyssey.
Your support fuels our passion and inspires us to keep sharing stories and discover overlooked locations.
Follow each adventure visually at:
https://www.instagram.com/backroadsodyssey/
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Cruisin' down the street.
I wonder where this road wouldlead.
So many possibilities.
Care to share what you think.
Oh Noondahs, what do you see?
Back Road Odyssey.
(00:22):
Van Life Diaries the manatees ofSouthern Florida.
Welcome to Van Life Diaries.
I'm your host, noah, in the van, along with my dog and co-host
Noodles the Woodle.
Let's get into it.
Southern Florida is home to anaquatic gentle giant, the
(00:43):
manatee.
But how much do we really knowabout this wandering, benign
behemoth?
The short answer is probablynot enough.
When exploring the diversewildlife of the Florida
panhandle, the manatee in allits buoyant glory stands out as
one of the most peculiar andfascinating Noodles, and I dive
(01:04):
deep into the warm springs,rivers and tributaries of
Florida to research thisfascinating creature.
As always, van Life Diaries areunscripted and impromptu,
although I've written some notecards this week to help with all
of the manatee facts andfigures we've collected in our
research.
I can only remember so much,and there's a lot this week.
(01:27):
So I'm excited to get into itand, as always, we'll answer
listener questions at the end.
I'm drinking a Hemingwaydaiquiri in the spirit of
today's episode.
Feel free to join me.
If not, no worries, sit back,relax and let's learn all about
the Florida Manatee.
(01:48):
It's January 9th 1493.
Christopher Columbus, sailingnear what is now the Dominican
Republic, spots shifting shapesin the choppy, murky water.
Strange, he and his crew think.
The ship's journal laterrecounts they were not as
beautiful as they are painted,since In some ways they have a
(02:12):
face like a man, christopherColumbus.
What he and his crew witnessedthat day was not the beautiful
half-female, half-fish mermaidof myth and legend, but a
wandering manatee.
Perhaps this mirage-likehallucination was brought about
by sleep deprivation,dehydration, malnutrition or a
(02:47):
spot of wishful thinking aftermonths at sea.
But regardless, this firstEurocentric sighting of the
manatee would not be the lastencounter with our ever-buoyant
friend, and it will be far fromthe sole example of our
fascination with the mistakenmermaid of the West, the manatee
.
We are driving to a manateeobservation platform down here
(03:09):
in southern Florida where youcan view them respectfully from
a distance.
The name Manatee Park, thelocation, florida's very own Lee
County, which includes thelovely city of Fort Myers.
The park, I'm happy to report,lives up to its name.
Something like 17 acres ofManatee Park serve as a warm
(03:30):
water refuge for the Floridamanatee every single winter.
And here, right away, we runinto one of the defining
characteristics of the manateethey get cold.
You'd be forgiven in thinkingthat their thick-looking bodies
insulate them from the incomingcold, but that's just not true,
(03:52):
sadly.
If the water around them evergets below 68 degrees, they'll
go into shock and die.
So manatees every year have tofind a warm, spring-fed water
system or southern hotter wateror just abnormally warm water in
certain areas.
(04:13):
And where we are going now isthe very last of what I just
said Manatee Park in Lee County,which is warmed by the nearby
Florida Power and Light plant,and the warm water essentially
is a byproduct of the cooling ofall of their equipment.
Luckily the manatees love it.
(04:33):
So that's where we're headed.
But now I'd like to ask kind ofa deceptively simple but
important question what is amanatee?
The manatee is endangered withextinction and I think it's
because it's out of shape.
It looks like a retiredfootball player, jim Gaffigan.
(04:54):
When it comes to sheer looks,the manatee might not be at the
top of anyone's modelrecommendations, but the deeper
you dig into their habits, theirdemeanor, their history, the
more attractive and fascinatingthey become as a topic.
Starting with this, manateesare mammals, large round aquatic
(05:18):
mammals, and you'd be forgivenif you, like myself, think of
similarly shaped little guyslike walruses, like seals, when
thinking about the manatee.
But alas, the truth, like muchof what we're going to talk
about, is more strange.
The manatee's closest livingrelative is none other than the
(05:46):
elephant.
All right, we're here at theobservation platform at Manatee
Park.
You look down from where I'm atand you see shifting, slow
shapes of manatees enjoying theheated water.
I've been here before, I'vekayaked here before and I have
(06:07):
some stories I'd like to share.
But before I do that, I want toshare the most present and
striking thing you'll noticewhen viewing manatees,
particularly when you're in thewater with them.
So every single time a manateecomes up for air, there's a
sudden but a very identifiableexhale.
(06:28):
You'll hear it right away.
It's loud, relatively frequent,every something like 20 minutes
when they're resting.
They'll come up Four or fiveminutes when they're really
active, I don't know.
I just wanted to point this outright away.
It's like a spread out,non-violent aquatic game of
whack-a-mole, only instead ofmoles, the curious manatee
(06:48):
gently preaches the warm waterthat's around him.
That, to me, more than anythingin all my trips to visit
manatees, stands out as uniqueand as noticeable, as unique and
as noticeable.
This breaching snout protrudingfrom the water is essentially
(07:11):
just a shrunken version of anelephant's trunk, and the
similarities to theirland-loving cousins don't stop
there.
When they've got a properbreath with their elephantine
trunk, they retreat backunderwater and they use their
lips to pull food into theirmouths in a way really very
(07:32):
similar to elephants.
If you've ever seen an elephantgrab something and pull it into
their mouth, it's the samething, it's the same concept.
But maybe the most obvioussimilarity is their size,
something you really don't learnto appreciate until you're
right up next to them.
Typical adult males aresomething like 9 to 10 feet long
(07:56):
and weigh an astonishing 1,000pounds, and some even reach a
staggering 13 feet and 3,500pounds.
You would think their diet ofseagrass and fresh aquatic
vegetation would be slimming,but nope.
Our herbivoric manatee friendscan eat anywhere from 100 to 200
(08:21):
pounds of seagrass and weedsper day, once and for all
halting the assertion thatsalads are always slimming.
Sometimes I see me as an oldmanatee heading south as the
water grows colder.
Jimmy Buffett growing older,not up.
(08:42):
I think of a question as I lookdown at the power plant-loving
beauties below me at ManateePark.
What makes the manatees ofFlorida.
Unique.
A lot of things, it turns out,but let's start with this.
There are three species of themanatee.
(09:03):
We start with the smallestmember of the manatee family,
the Amazonian manatee, afreshwater species preferring
the South American.
Member of the manatee family,the Amazonian manatee, a
freshwater species preferringthe South American waters of the
Amazon River Basin.
Interestingly, they are theonly manatee species to not have
nails on its forelimbs.
I'll say this this does notseem to dampen their social
(09:25):
abilities, because West Indianmanatees we'll talk about them
soon may stop every once in awhile to visit these little tiny
guys in their naturalfreshwater habitat.
Nails or no nails, it's abeautiful thing.
Next, we venture across the pondto ponder the West African
(09:47):
manatee, which can be foundgenerally off the coast of
Western Africa.
Well, it is similar in size andgeneral appearance.
This saltwater and freshwatermanatee has a much blunter snout
than the other two species.
It's also the only manateespecies that seems to
intentionally eat non-plantmaterial.
(10:07):
Finally, we have the WestIndian manatee species that
seems to intentionally eatnon-plant material.
Finally, we have the WestIndian manatee, characterized by
its grayish or brownish skin,rounded tail and a set of nails
on its forelimbs.
They are the largest of all ofthe manatee species and can be
found all along the southeasternUnited States, from Florida to
(10:30):
actually Massachusetts in thesummer, to around the Gulf of
Mexico and even through Centraland South America, where they
may take a detour to visit theirtiny Amazonian manatee friends.
But regardless, the West Indianmanatee also has two subspecies
that are important to talkabout.
One, the Antillean manatee alsohas two sub-species that are
important to talk about.
One, the Antillean manatee,which explores the Caribbean to
(10:54):
Central America and beyond.
And finally, finally, ourfriend, the Florida manatee,
which can be found off the coastof the southeastern US and
along the Gulf and Florida,which is the setting for my
close encounter while kayakingin the Orange River.
(11:26):
I'm walking now along one of thelittle paths that cross around
Manatee Park only because Iwanted to get some space to
share a story really quick.
I'm honestly at a loss for whathappened during this story, but
here we go.
It's my very first visit toManatee Park.
My friend and I rent a tandemkayak.
The day is calm and weits gentlywith the current down the
(11:51):
Orange River, manatees every nowand again come up for a breath.
They're far away and we givethem space In the first hour or
so pass by just like thiswithout incident.
Eventually, we end up byourselves moving more slowly and
more slowly as the currentsubsides.
(12:12):
It's quiet, calm, no one isaround us except manatees, many,
many manatees.
But again, we give them space,we never approach them, we just
sit and watch.
And after a minute or so ofthis just watching, we notice a
(12:36):
small group of manatees maybefour keeps getting closer and
closer to our kayak with everyconsecutive breath.
Every time they come up for air, it's 20 feet, 15 feet.
This keeps happening untilthey're right by us.
One surfaces right to the leftof our tandem kayak, the other
(12:59):
one surfaces right to the right.
Silence when they go back down.
And then, without warning, bothmanatees dive up and under the
water, one tail hitting the boat, the other creating a wave
large enough to cascade waterinto the kayak, soaking my shirt
and pants and soaking wet.
(13:21):
We paddle as fast as we can outof the tributary and back
towards the more populated area,against the current.
While we're doing this, we askourselves what just happened.
The truth is, I and my friendstill don't know.
Do I think these manatees wereintentionally trying to capsize
(13:41):
our kayak?
No, no, not at all.
They're gentle, but it's socurious how it wasn't just one
but multiple manatees performingthe same action all at once.
Like I said, I don't know.
They could be curious.
We could have unknowingly madethem nervous in this slightly
(14:04):
less populated area.
Wish I had an answer.
But regardless, it was amemorable experience with a
truly, truly remarkable animal.
He lived out his life for therest of his days enjoying the
leisurely manatee ways.
(14:25):
An excerpt from A Manatee calledSteve by Gord Laws.
Before you say anything, I willpost the poem in the show notes
.
It is a treat and a treasure.
It's about a manatee namedSteve who leaves his THC-loving
manatee friends in Florida to goto the Olympics.
(14:46):
It's great.
Anywho, we've come too far andwe've learned too much to not go
yet further down this manateeiceberg.
Here we go with a rapid-firemanatee fact blitz.
They are good mamas.
(15:07):
A female manatee is pregnantfor one whole year and when the
baby is born, the baby, called acalf, stays with its mother,
nurses, learns the ropes,migration patterns, what have
you?
For?
Up to two years, they haverelatively long lives.
Well, they typically live 45 to60 years in the wild.
(15:28):
They typically live 45 to 60years in the wild Snooty, a male
Florida manatee lived until theage of 69 in captivity.
They are shockingly fast.
When they want to, they canreach speeds of up to 15 miles
per hour in a short burst.
Finally, my favorite fact,manatees cannot move their heads
(15:50):
sideways Because they only havesix neck vertebrae.
It's almost impossible, or justplain impossible, for them to
turn their heads sideways.
They have to turn their entirebody around to look behind them,
which only makes them that muchmore enduring.
If you ask me, hello, I'm backin the van.
(16:14):
I'm going to wrap things up byasking myself the following
question what, if anything, didI learn from all my encounters
with the Florida Manatee?
And To that I'll say this whenyou view something anything but
particularly wildlife, withpurpose, with respect, with
(16:38):
intent, it becomes nearlyimpossible to lose appreciation
for it and for the Floridamanatee.
This is undoubtedly the case.
And with that, manatee Park,lee County, my Manatee friends,
I bid thee a very fond farewell.
(17:19):
Before we get to listenerquestions today, I'll leave you
with another short excerpt froma manatee called Steve.
In a land known as Florida, far, far away, there lived a beast
of pleasure who chilled out thewhole day.
No one could begrudge themtheir natural way, for manatees
(17:44):
are manatees.
The old folks say who or whatdid you learn to appreciate
(18:08):
after research for the SunRecords episode?
Great question.
This episode, more than anyother episode, really made me
question how much I know aboutanything, because the more you
look into the history of rockand roll specifically, the more
you feel like you have toresearch.
You know.
The more articles I went into,the more I felt I had to read.
(18:29):
The more documentaries Iwatched, I felt I had to watch
just a couple more just to tryand do it justice, because the
history of rock and roll isn'tthe history of one person, two
people.
It's a multifaceted, rich, deeptapestry of music styles that
weave together into this really,really complicated story.
(18:55):
So, more than anything, Ilearned that.
But very, very specifically,the music of Little Richard
James Brown A video actuallythat I watch all the time now is
Sister Rosetta Tharp.
She was a gospel singer.
She's standing near this traintrack and just shredding on a
guitar with a peacoat and heelson, and just to see the passion
(19:21):
behind what she's doing and howmuch she's overlooked really,
really, really got me.
So yeah, I could go on and onand on, but it was really
rewarding to look into.
And some records, yeah, butrock and roll more generally.
So I learned to appreciate allthat so much more.
Great question Can you keepplants alive in your van?
(19:46):
Short answer is no.
Short answer is no.
I went into a plant shop onceand told whoever was at the
counter that I lived in a vanand asked is there anything?
Is there anything that couldpossibly survive in my van?
The person's response wasanything will scorch so fast in
(20:09):
that van.
I'm sorry but no.
So, yeah, I heeded her warningand now I have a hanging
crocheted little succulents,which is great.
It's all the greenery I needfor now, with what I can do,
courtesy of Hooks and Hops,which is a crochet slash beer
Instagram account that I reallyenjoy.
(20:33):
What's the best hike you've everdone?
I like a lot of hikes for a lotof reasons, a lot of different
terrains, but if I had to narrowit down, I'd say Delta Lake.
That's a, I don't know thespecifics.
It's seven miles into theTetons and there's just this
beautiful lake at the end of it.
Then Grinnell Glacier, which isin Glacier National Park.
(20:56):
You hike under a waterfall andyou end up at this glacier where
you can dive into glacial waterif you want, at the end, which
is absolutely, absolutelyfreezing, but worth it because
it's a bit of a tough hike.
So, yeah, either one of thoseare up there the end, which is
absolutely, absolutely freezing,but worth it because it's a bit
of a tough hike.
So so, yeah, either one ofthose, uh are up there.
(21:20):
Did you get to visit any otherpetroglyph locations while in
Utah?
This is a reference to the Utahpetroglyph episode that I did.
Uh, sadly, I only went to theCapitol Reef petroglyph location
.
I know there are so many otherpetroglyphs in the area and I
would like to go back and really, really do a deep dive into
(21:43):
petroglyphs in general, but Ionly did what I did the episode
on, sadly, but I hope to changethat in the future.
It's Noah here.
Thank you for listening.
I realize you have so manyoptions for podcasts.
Every minute you spend here ismuch, much appreciated.
With that said, let's get somerecommendations in here.
(22:05):
So if you're in SouthwestFlorida and you want to see
manatees, like I said throughoutthe entirety of today's episode
, manatee Park in Lee County,fort Myers, is a great place to
go.
Kayak rentals aren't terribleand you launch right into the
current of the Orange River.
The best times to go in general, but for this location
(22:25):
specifically, are Decemberthrough March, because that's
when all the manatees congregatearound the heat of the power
plant.
You can also check out ThreeSisters Springs in Crystal River
.
It's a popular location.
You can rent a clear bottomkayak.
Some manatees choose to livethere year round, which is great
, and it's also the only placein the US where you can legally
(22:48):
swim with manatees.
But I'll say this whatever youdo, make sure you go in good
faith, make sure you respectthem, keep your distance and
learn as much as you can,because they're really
fascinating, fascinating animals.
Finally, if you find value inthe effort and the research that
Noonles and I put into eachepisodeating and reviewing is
(23:10):
the best way to help us continueto put the effort and the
research that we would like toin each episode and, with that
said, be good to each other whento next.
Cruisin' down the street.
I wonder where this road wouldlead.
So many possibilities.
Care to share what you think.
Oh Noondahs, what do you see?
Back Road Odyssey.
(00:22):
Van Life Diaries the manatees ofSouthern Florida.
Welcome to Van Life Diaries.
I'm your host, noah, in the van, along with my dog and co-host
Noodles the Woodle.
Let's get into it.
Southern Florida is home to anaquatic gentle giant, the
(00:43):
manatee.
But how much do we really knowabout this wandering, benign
behemoth?
The short answer is probablynot enough.
When exploring the diversewildlife of the Florida
panhandle, the manatee in allits buoyant glory stands out as
one of the most peculiar andfascinating Noodles, and I dive
(01:04):
deep into the warm springs,rivers and tributaries of
Florida to research thisfascinating creature.
As always, van Life Diaries areunscripted and impromptu,
although I've written some notecards this week to help with all
of the manatee facts andfigures we've collected in our
research.
I can only remember so much,and there's a lot this week.
(01:27):
So I'm excited to get into itand, as always, we'll answer
listener questions at the end.
I'm drinking a Hemingwaydaiquiri in the spirit of
today's episode.
Feel free to join me.
If not, no worries, sit back,relax and let's learn all about
the Florida Manatee.
(01:48):
It's January 9th 1493.
Christopher Columbus, sailingnear what is now the Dominican
Republic, spots shifting shapesin the choppy, murky water.
Strange, he and his crew think.
The ship's journal laterrecounts they were not as
beautiful as they are painted,since In some ways they have a
(02:12):
face like a man, christopherColumbus.
What he and his crew witnessedthat day was not the beautiful
half-female, half-fish mermaidof myth and legend, but a
wandering manatee.
Perhaps this mirage-likehallucination was brought about
by sleep deprivation,dehydration, malnutrition or a
(02:47):
spot of wishful thinking aftermonths at sea.
But regardless, this firstEurocentric sighting of the
manatee would not be the lastencounter with our ever-buoyant
friend, and it will be far fromthe sole example of our
fascination with the mistakenmermaid of the West, the manatee
.
We are driving to a manateeobservation platform down here
(03:09):
in southern Florida where youcan view them respectfully from
a distance.
The name Manatee Park, thelocation, florida's very own Lee
County, which includes thelovely city of Fort Myers.
The park, I'm happy to report,lives up to its name.
Something like 17 acres ofManatee Park serve as a warm
(03:30):
water refuge for the Floridamanatee every single winter.
And here, right away, we runinto one of the defining
characteristics of the manateethey get cold.
You'd be forgiven in thinkingthat their thick-looking bodies
insulate them from the incomingcold, but that's just not true,
(03:52):
sadly.
If the water around them evergets below 68 degrees, they'll
go into shock and die.
So manatees every year have tofind a warm, spring-fed water
system or southern hotter wateror just abnormally warm water in
certain areas.
(04:13):
And where we are going now isthe very last of what I just
said Manatee Park in Lee County,which is warmed by the nearby
Florida Power and Light plant,and the warm water essentially
is a byproduct of the cooling ofall of their equipment.
Luckily the manatees love it.
(04:33):
So that's where we're headed.
But now I'd like to ask kind ofa deceptively simple but
important question what is amanatee?
The manatee is endangered withextinction and I think it's
because it's out of shape.
It looks like a retiredfootball player, jim Gaffigan.
(04:54):
When it comes to sheer looks,the manatee might not be at the
top of anyone's modelrecommendations, but the deeper
you dig into their habits, theirdemeanor, their history, the
more attractive and fascinatingthey become as a topic.
Starting with this, manateesare mammals, large round aquatic
(05:18):
mammals, and you'd be forgivenif you, like myself, think of
similarly shaped little guyslike walruses, like seals, when
thinking about the manatee.
But alas, the truth, like muchof what we're going to talk
about, is more strange.
The manatee's closest livingrelative is none other than the
(05:46):
elephant.
All right, we're here at theobservation platform at Manatee
Park.
You look down from where I'm atand you see shifting, slow
shapes of manatees enjoying theheated water.
I've been here before, I'vekayaked here before and I have
(06:07):
some stories I'd like to share.
But before I do that, I want toshare the most present and
striking thing you'll noticewhen viewing manatees,
particularly when you're in thewater with them.
So every single time a manateecomes up for air, there's a
sudden but a very identifiableexhale.
(06:28):
You'll hear it right away.
It's loud, relatively frequent,every something like 20 minutes
when they're resting.
They'll come up Four or fiveminutes when they're really
active, I don't know.
I just wanted to point this outright away.
It's like a spread out,non-violent aquatic game of
whack-a-mole, only instead ofmoles, the curious manatee
(06:48):
gently preaches the warm waterthat's around him.
That, to me, more than anythingin all my trips to visit
manatees, stands out as uniqueand as noticeable, as unique and
as noticeable.
This breaching snout protrudingfrom the water is essentially
(07:11):
just a shrunken version of anelephant's trunk, and the
similarities to theirland-loving cousins don't stop
there.
When they've got a properbreath with their elephantine
trunk, they retreat backunderwater and they use their
lips to pull food into theirmouths in a way really very
(07:32):
similar to elephants.
If you've ever seen an elephantgrab something and pull it into
their mouth, it's the samething, it's the same concept.
But maybe the most obvioussimilarity is their size,
something you really don't learnto appreciate until you're
right up next to them.
Typical adult males aresomething like 9 to 10 feet long
(07:56):
and weigh an astonishing 1,000pounds, and some even reach a
staggering 13 feet and 3,500pounds.
You would think their diet ofseagrass and fresh aquatic
vegetation would be slimming,but nope.
Our herbivoric manatee friendscan eat anywhere from 100 to 200
(08:21):
pounds of seagrass and weedsper day, once and for all
halting the assertion thatsalads are always slimming.
Sometimes I see me as an oldmanatee heading south as the
water grows colder.
Jimmy Buffett growing older,not up.
(08:42):
I think of a question as I lookdown at the power plant-loving
beauties below me at ManateePark.
What makes the manatees ofFlorida.
Unique.
A lot of things, it turns out,but let's start with this.
There are three species of themanatee.
(09:03):
We start with the smallestmember of the manatee family,
the Amazonian manatee, afreshwater species preferring
the South American.
Member of the manatee family,the Amazonian manatee, a
freshwater species preferringthe South American waters of the
Amazon River Basin.
Interestingly, they are theonly manatee species to not have
nails on its forelimbs.
I'll say this this does notseem to dampen their social
(09:25):
abilities, because West Indianmanatees we'll talk about them
soon may stop every once in awhile to visit these little tiny
guys in their naturalfreshwater habitat.
Nails or no nails, it's abeautiful thing.
Next, we venture across the pondto ponder the West African
(09:47):
manatee, which can be foundgenerally off the coast of
Western Africa.
Well, it is similar in size andgeneral appearance.
This saltwater and freshwatermanatee has a much blunter snout
than the other two species.
It's also the only manateespecies that seems to
intentionally eat non-plantmaterial.
(10:07):
Finally, we have the WestIndian manatee species that
seems to intentionally eatnon-plant material.
Finally, we have the WestIndian manatee, characterized by
its grayish or brownish skin,rounded tail and a set of nails
on its forelimbs.
They are the largest of all ofthe manatee species and can be
found all along the southeasternUnited States, from Florida to
(10:30):
actually Massachusetts in thesummer, to around the Gulf of
Mexico and even through Centraland South America, where they
may take a detour to visit theirtiny Amazonian manatee friends.
But regardless, the West Indianmanatee also has two subspecies
that are important to talkabout.
One, the Antillean manatee alsohas two sub-species that are
important to talk about.
One, the Antillean manatee,which explores the Caribbean to
(10:54):
Central America and beyond.
And finally, finally, ourfriend, the Florida manatee,
which can be found off the coastof the southeastern US and
along the Gulf and Florida,which is the setting for my
close encounter while kayakingin the Orange River.
(11:26):
I'm walking now along one of thelittle paths that cross around
Manatee Park only because Iwanted to get some space to
share a story really quick.
I'm honestly at a loss for whathappened during this story, but
here we go.
It's my very first visit toManatee Park.
My friend and I rent a tandemkayak.
The day is calm and weits gentlywith the current down the
(11:51):
Orange River, manatees every nowand again come up for a breath.
They're far away and we givethem space In the first hour or
so pass by just like thiswithout incident.
Eventually, we end up byourselves moving more slowly and
more slowly as the currentsubsides.
(12:12):
It's quiet, calm, no one isaround us except manatees, many,
many manatees.
But again, we give them space,we never approach them, we just
sit and watch.
And after a minute or so ofthis just watching, we notice a
(12:36):
small group of manatees maybefour keeps getting closer and
closer to our kayak with everyconsecutive breath.
Every time they come up for air, it's 20 feet, 15 feet.
This keeps happening untilthey're right by us.
One surfaces right to the leftof our tandem kayak, the other
(12:59):
one surfaces right to the right.
Silence when they go back down.
And then, without warning, bothmanatees dive up and under the
water, one tail hitting the boat, the other creating a wave
large enough to cascade waterinto the kayak, soaking my shirt
and pants and soaking wet.
(13:21):
We paddle as fast as we can outof the tributary and back
towards the more populated area,against the current.
While we're doing this, we askourselves what just happened.
The truth is, I and my friendstill don't know.
Do I think these manatees wereintentionally trying to capsize
(13:41):
our kayak?
No, no, not at all.
They're gentle, but it's socurious how it wasn't just one
but multiple manatees performingthe same action all at once.
Like I said, I don't know.
They could be curious.
We could have unknowingly madethem nervous in this slightly
(14:04):
less populated area.
Wish I had an answer.
But regardless, it was amemorable experience with a
truly, truly remarkable animal.
He lived out his life for therest of his days enjoying the
leisurely manatee ways.
(14:25):
An excerpt from A Manatee calledSteve by Gord Laws.
Before you say anything, I willpost the poem in the show notes
.
It is a treat and a treasure.
It's about a manatee namedSteve who leaves his THC-loving
manatee friends in Florida to goto the Olympics.
(14:46):
It's great.
Anywho, we've come too far andwe've learned too much to not go
yet further down this manateeiceberg.
Here we go with a rapid-firemanatee fact blitz.
They are good mamas.
(15:07):
A female manatee is pregnantfor one whole year and when the
baby is born, the baby, called acalf, stays with its mother,
nurses, learns the ropes,migration patterns, what have
you?
For?
Up to two years, they haverelatively long lives.
Well, they typically live 45 to60 years in the wild.
(15:28):
They typically live 45 to 60years in the wild Snooty, a male
Florida manatee lived until theage of 69 in captivity.
They are shockingly fast.
When they want to, they canreach speeds of up to 15 miles
per hour in a short burst.
Finally, my favorite fact,manatees cannot move their heads
(15:50):
sideways Because they only havesix neck vertebrae.
It's almost impossible, or justplain impossible, for them to
turn their heads sideways.
They have to turn their entirebody around to look behind them,
which only makes them that muchmore enduring.
If you ask me, hello, I'm backin the van.
(16:14):
I'm going to wrap things up byasking myself the following
question what, if anything, didI learn from all my encounters
with the Florida Manatee?
And To that I'll say this whenyou view something anything but
particularly wildlife, withpurpose, with respect, with
(16:38):
intent, it becomes nearlyimpossible to lose appreciation
for it and for the Floridamanatee.
This is undoubtedly the case.
And with that, manatee Park,lee County, my Manatee friends,
I bid thee a very fond farewell.
(17:19):
Before we get to listenerquestions today, I'll leave you
with another short excerpt froma manatee called Steve.
In a land known as Florida, far, far away, there lived a beast
of pleasure who chilled out thewhole day.
No one could begrudge themtheir natural way, for manatees
(17:44):
are manatees.
The old folks say who or whatdid you learn to appreciate
(18:08):
after research for the SunRecords episode?
Great question.
This episode, more than anyother episode, really made me
question how much I know aboutanything, because the more you
look into the history of rockand roll specifically, the more
you feel like you have toresearch.
You know.
The more articles I went into,the more I felt I had to read.
(18:29):
The more documentaries Iwatched, I felt I had to watch
just a couple more just to tryand do it justice, because the
history of rock and roll isn'tthe history of one person, two
people.
It's a multifaceted, rich, deeptapestry of music styles that
weave together into this really,really complicated story.
(18:55):
So, more than anything, Ilearned that.
But very, very specifically,the music of Little Richard
James Brown A video actuallythat I watch all the time now is
Sister Rosetta Tharp.
She was a gospel singer.
She's standing near this traintrack and just shredding on a
guitar with a peacoat and heelson, and just to see the passion
(19:21):
behind what she's doing and howmuch she's overlooked really,
really, really got me.
So yeah, I could go on and onand on, but it was really
rewarding to look into.
And some records, yeah, butrock and roll more generally.
So I learned to appreciate allthat so much more.
Great question Can you keepplants alive in your van?
(19:46):
Short answer is no.
Short answer is no.
I went into a plant shop onceand told whoever was at the
counter that I lived in a vanand asked is there anything?
Is there anything that couldpossibly survive in my van?
The person's response wasanything will scorch so fast in
(20:09):
that van.
I'm sorry but no.
So, yeah, I heeded her warningand now I have a hanging
crocheted little succulents,which is great.
It's all the greenery I needfor now, with what I can do,
courtesy of Hooks and Hops,which is a crochet slash beer
Instagram account that I reallyenjoy.
(20:33):
What's the best hike you've everdone?
I like a lot of hikes for a lotof reasons, a lot of different
terrains, but if I had to narrowit down, I'd say Delta Lake.
That's a, I don't know thespecifics.
It's seven miles into theTetons and there's just this
beautiful lake at the end of it.
Then Grinnell Glacier, which isin Glacier National Park.
(20:56):
You hike under a waterfall andyou end up at this glacier where
you can dive into glacial waterif you want, at the end, which
is absolutely, absolutelyfreezing, but worth it because
it's a bit of a tough hike.
So, yeah, either one of thoseare up there the end, which is
absolutely, absolutely freezing,but worth it because it's a bit
of a tough hike.
So so, yeah, either one ofthose, uh are up there.
(21:20):
Did you get to visit any otherpetroglyph locations while in
Utah?
This is a reference to the Utahpetroglyph episode that I did.
Uh, sadly, I only went to theCapitol Reef petroglyph location
.
I know there are so many otherpetroglyphs in the area and I
would like to go back and really, really do a deep dive into
(21:43):
petroglyphs in general, but Ionly did what I did the episode
on, sadly, but I hope to changethat in the future.
It's Noah here.
Thank you for listening.
I realize you have so manyoptions for podcasts.
Every minute you spend here ismuch, much appreciated.
With that said, let's get somerecommendations in here.
(22:05):
So if you're in SouthwestFlorida and you want to see
manatees, like I said throughoutthe entirety of today's episode
, manatee Park in Lee County,fort Myers, is a great place to
go.
Kayak rentals aren't terribleand you launch right into the
current of the Orange River.
The best times to go in general, but for this location
(22:25):
specifically, are Decemberthrough March, because that's
when all the manatees congregatearound the heat of the power
plant.
You can also check out ThreeSisters Springs in Crystal River
.
It's a popular location.
You can rent a clear bottomkayak.
Some manatees choose to livethere year round, which is great
, and it's also the only placein the US where you can legally
(22:48):
swim with manatees.
But I'll say this whatever youdo, make sure you go in good
faith, make sure you respectthem, keep your distance and
learn as much as you can,because they're really
fascinating, fascinating animals.
Finally, if you find value inthe effort and the research that
Noonles and I put into eachepisodeating and reviewing is
(23:10):
the best way to help us continueto put the effort and the
research that we would like toin each episode and, with that
said, be good to each other whento next.
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