Manatee Viewing Center Record - Cherie Jacobs TECO

The Manatee Viewing Center at the Big Bend power plant south of Tampa has had more than a thousand manatees for most of the winter so far. On December 29th, they set a new all-time record with 1100 on hand. Cherie Jacobs with TECO Energy explains the factors behind the increase.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Gordon Bird here with Beyond the News. Our winter has not been universally cold,
but we have had several cold frontsthat have burst through in the sel
Nino pattern and that's resulted in moremanatees than usual looking for warm water,
which means it's been a good seasonto look for manatees at many places,
such as the Tampa Electric Manatee ViewingCenter next to the Big Ben power Plant

(00:22):
in Hillsboro County, right next toTampa Bay. We have Sherry Jacobs with
Tampa Electric to here to talk tous about the new record that they set
there just a few weeks ago.Sherry, thank you very much for joining
us on Beyond the News. Thanksfor having me. All Right, so,
you've had a lot of You've hada lot of visitors in the form

(00:44):
of manatees at this manatee viewing centerand you set a new record. Tell
us about that. Yes, it'sgreat news. The weather, as you
mentioned, has been intermittently cold,but pretty consistently chilly. That has brought
record number of manatees into the canalnear our power plant. On December twenty
ninth, we set a new record. We had eleven hundred manatees in our

(01:10):
canal at one time, which absolutelydwarfed our previous record. Now last winter,
the previous record was eight hundred andfifty, so that was significantly more
manatees this year. And the factthat, as you mentioned, it has
been chilly a lot, if notexactly freezing cold, that it probably incentivized

(01:32):
the manatees to stay close to thewarm water rather than get out and explore
a little bit, perhaps in acouple of days between cold fronts and whatever.
That's exactly right. When the waterin Tampa Bay is sixty eight degrees
or lower, the manatees come tothe warm water discharge canal of our Big

(01:53):
Ben power station. Most seasons it'sby the hundreds, but this season it
has repeatedly been over a thousand ata time. You know, they love
the warm water. It's sort oflike a like a hot tub for them,
and it keeps them warm when theweather is a little cool out.
I would hate to have be theperson. I would think it's a big

(02:15):
challenge for the person who has tocount all of the manatees. I don't
know quite how you do that,whether you have a turnstyle that they go
through, or you have somebody goingone, two, three, four from
up above. That would be fun, right to have a turnstyle for them
to go through, but it isalas a human job. There's a state

(02:38):
agency that does a fly over andtakes pictures and they physically count every manatee
in the canal, and it's amazingto see when there's a group that big
in the canal. They from above, they look like, you know,
sesame seeds or something. There's justso many of them, and it's amazing.

(03:00):
It's an amazing sight. So tellus, of course, the Manatee
Viewing Center. Those of us whohave been here for a while, we
know where that is and the timeof year you can expect to see manatees.
But tell us a little bit aboutthis for people who are just hearing
about this for the first time.How they can go, and what's available

(03:21):
to be seen there, and whatdays and hours and weeks and months you're
open. The Manatee Viewing Center isa free attraction just off I seventy five
in Apollo Beach, near the BigBen Power Station. It is open seven
days a week, from ten inthe morning to five at night. Now.
The season runs from November one untilTax Day April fifteenth, and the

(03:46):
manatees are usually congregating when the weatheris cold, so this time of year,
you know, through February, sometimesinto March, and there's more to
do than just manatees. There there'sa fifty foot observation tower, there's walking
paths, there's boardwalks, there's aneducation center that teaches you all about the

(04:06):
not only the manatees, but alsothe environment around the bay and all some
other interesting things. Kids love it. It is free. It is a
wonderful attraction, and many many peoplehave loved it so much they return year
after year. In fact, sincethe center opened in nineteen eighty six,

(04:30):
we've had about seven and a halfmillion people visit the Manatee Viewing Center.
It is a beloved destination. AndI noticed that one of your honors is
being selected as one of USA Today'sten Best Readers Choice Travel Awards for best
free attractions. So that's hard tobe yes, And you know, trip
Advisor always gives us great certificates ofexcellence, and USA Today we were one

(04:58):
of the top I think we werenumber two on that top ten list.
And it's educational and environmentally friendly andcome by and visit. We always a
good topic to talk about and alwaysglad to get you on to talk about
it. Sherry Jacobs with the TampaElectric talking about the record numbers of manatees
at they're viewing center. Thank youvery much for joining us on beyond the

(05:19):
News. Thank you so much