Three Sisters Springs

This past Tuesday, Barbara and I visited the Three Sisters Springs Wildlife Refuge on the Crystal River in Kings Bay, Florida. Three years ago we visited here in search on manatees, but unfortunately, we didn’t see any. During this visit we hit the jackpot. The guide at the refuge indicated that there were more than one hundred in the small cove at the mouth of the Three Sisters Springs. Manatees prefer water temperatures around 72 degrees Fahrenheit (F). The water from the Three Sisters Springs is 72 degrees F year round. So when the water temperature of the Gulf water falls into the sixties, as it frequently does during the winter months, the manatees make their way into Kings Bay to the Three Sisters Springs where the water is 72 degrees F, just as they like it.

During our visit, there were only two calves in the springs while most of the hundreds of manatees, we saw, were in the cove just outside of the springs. When we arrived, the tide was going out so most of the manatees left the springs so that they wouldn’t get trapped in the springs when the water level fell below the entrance to the springs.

Manatees are mammals just like you and I, so even though they are aquatic creatures, they need air to breath and except for while they are sleeping, they come to the surface approximately every 3 minutes for air. Their calves weigh approximately 500 pounds at birth. That’s a big baby. Adult manatees weigh approximately 1,000 pounds but can weigh as much as 3,500 pounds. In my photos, you will see some manatees with sea grass growing on their back while others have barnacles. The barnacles are seen on manatees that recently came into the fresh water. Once they are in the fresh water for an extended period of time, the barnacles fall off, because the barnacles can’t live in fresh water.

During our visit, the Fish and Wildlife Service was busy making adjustments to the areas accessible to the manatees and keep humans out of the water, so I was not able to get any underwater photos. We did enjoy seeing the manatees up close for the first time.