Special Sighting in the Conservancy Boat Lagoon
Written by Conservancy Associate Erin Peña
If you’ve ever been on the electric boat ride at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, you’ve been a witness to the fascinating beauty that is the Gordon River, and our own lagoon. There are lots of different species to see, however, during cold weather spikes, our boat captains receive very special visitors into our lagoon. Manatees!
The manatees in the lagoon arrive during the winter months when the Gulf of Mexico’s temperatures begin to drop. Florida manatees are very sensitive to cold water and will often move to slow-flowing rivers and estuaries in search of warmth.
These gentle creatures are migrant herbivores, found mainly where seagrass beds or freshwater vegetation are abundant. They are mammals and can be seen surfacing to breathe about every 15 minutes. Manatees travel either alone or in pairs, and babies will travel with the mothers for the first few years of life. If there are groups traveling together, it is usually a female with a group of males, called a “mating herd”.
Although they have no natural predators and can live up to 60 years, there are many threats that manatees face in the wild. They are affected by both natural and human impacts. The most common threats to manatees are red tide, watercraft collisions, seagrass loss, and pneumonia caused by changes in water temperature.
Because manatees are very slow-moving creatures, it is hard for them to move out of the way of boats. Almost all manatees in Florida have scars on their bodies from collision injuries. Scientists have even used these markings to tell manatees apart, developing the Manatee Individual Photo-Identification System.
The Florida manatees have been protected under Florida Law dating as far back as 1893. They were one of the original animals placed on the Endangered Species Act of 1966. In 1991, there were approximately 1,267 manatees counted in the southeastern United States. Today, there are more than 6,500. In March of 2017, Florida Fish and Wildlife announced that it was downgrading the manatees from Endangered to Threatened.
Although manatee populations in the rest of Florida are rising, the number of manatees in Southwest Florida is historically decreasing. Of the 13 “key manatee counties”, Lee County is the most dangerous for manatees based on boat collisions. Habitat destruction and water quality are other factors that cause loss of manatees in Southwest Florida. At the Conservancy, our Policy team works actively to protect our water here in Southwest Florida, ultimately aiding the manatees and their habitats.
How you can help our policy team advocate for clean water?
1. Sign up to receive Action Alerts via email so you can take action instantly. Click here to sign up today!
2. Find out about the current critical issues facing Southwest Florida and what actions you can take to influence decision-makers in the Legislative Action Center. It only takes a few minutes to make a big difference.
Nature Center Information
The Conservancy Nature Center is open Monday-Saturday, 9:30am-4:00pm and Sundays (through March) 12:00pm-4:00pm. The Electric Boat tour information can be found on our website or listed below!
Departure times (Rides subject to tides, wind and weather):
Monday — Saturday | 10 a.m. | 11 a.m. | 12 p.m. | 1 p.m. | 2 p.m. | 3 p.m.
Sundays through March | 1 p.m. | 2 p.m. | 3 p.m.
This is a perfect way for families, nature lovers and boaters to enjoy a unique experience on the water. Our trained guides will point out the natural beauty surrounding the Conservancy Nature Center and you may even spot a manatee or two!
Electric boat tours are frequently cited as visitors’ favorite part of the Nature Center experience!
PLEASE NOTE: Passenger capacity is limited. Due to insurance purposes, all children must be supervised by an adult and must be older than two years of age. Scheduled field trip participants receive first boarding priority.
Rides subject to tides, wind and weather
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