Cool Manatee

After six weeks of recovering from a total hip replacement, depressing political rhetoric, and now the bold geopolitical move by our president to eliminate the world of unspeakable evil, I was suddenly surprised by an unexpected and inspiring new friend - an old 600-700 pound 12-foot manatee! In a few short minutes, I learned a lot!

I decided to stop procrastinating and flush my Yamaha 300 motors after using our boat while my son, daughter, and family visited. I was sitting quietly flushing the starboard motor when I heard a loud snort, looked down, and saw a large cleft mouth with whiskers drinking the water discharging from the motor. I was literally shocked for a moment, then realized it was a manatee drinking the fresh water. I disconnected from the motor and began spraying fresh water in his/her mouth. I couldn’t believe what was happening. I called my wife to come help! He appeared to have several propeller injuries on his back, so we called Marco police, then Florida Fish and Wildlife. The Marco Marine officer came on site via boat, and for over an hour we evaluated this manatee. We decided he was OK and just enjoying the fresh water and cool bath!

This manatee was huge, older, and as evidenced by his injuries, just trying to survive his environment another day! He found some comfort and a friend with the power of a cool, freshwater hose. I hope he makes it a few more years. He’s a lot like all of us.