Who doesn’t love a manatee? Even when we’re frustrated with all the low-speed manatee zones in Florida, it’s still hard to bear any ill-will to these smile-inducing, half-ton creatures. They’re just big and slow and somehow endearing; children want to hug them. And manatees, at least some of them, migrate, swimming along the northern Gulf Coast from Florida in the summer, traveling as far as Louisiana. Now boaters in the coastal southern part of Louisiana are reporting manatee sightings in places where they haven’t been seen in years, and the state is issuing warnings to protect them. The West Indian…

Manatees are back in Florida; the manatee slow-speed restricted zones go into effect this Sunday, Nov. 13. These smile-producing creatures grow to 9-10 feet and weigh about 1,000 pounds, and they’re totally harmless. Every year this time they head south as the water cools; they can’t tolerate water colder than 68 degrees, and they tend to congregate near power plants. Unfortunately, they also swim where boats cruise; last year 80 were killed by boats in Florida alone. Here’s  a good story about what you can do to keep them alive and well: https://southernboating.com/manatees-return/?utm_source=SE+non-spon+manatees+20161108&utm_campaign=SE+%28manatee%29+11%2F9%2F16&utm_medium=email