Located in western Florida by Kings Bay, surrounded by wetlands and springs waters. Crystal River is home and also shelter of this beautiful mammals. The West Indian Manatees.

Most of kings bay was declared a protected area in 1983 with the only purpose to protect the West Indian Manatee, this area is known as Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge consists of 20 islands and you can see the limits of these protected areas by buoys and ropes surrounding. Meaning no boats or even snorkeling is allowed.

Advice from a Manatee: Breathe deep , Glide through your day , have a gentle spirit, enjoy time alone and live large!

Three Sister Springs

The world famous springs known for its amazing colors is part of the protected area, it is privately owned since 2010 with funds from the Florida Community trust, The city of Crystal River, U.S Fish & Wildlife Service, Southwest Florida Water Management District as well as many community members and non profit groups. Three Sister Springs it is the preferred area for manatees to rest, given the fact this area is exclusively secured from any visitors during the wintering months (Nov 15 – March 31st) you can only access the sanctuary by land using the board walk which is about a 1 mile trail.

The spring consist of 3 pools (thats why the name three sisters) Pretty Sister, Big Sister and Little sister; plus other 3 other view points Idiots delight I and II and magnolia springs (see map below). The whole system has around 20 spring vents and in a single day up to 20 million gallons of water gushes from these springs into kings bay (amazing huh).

Swimming with Manatees

People around the globe come to Crystal River to experience Florida Manatee Swimming, it is a unique experience. Even though Three Sister Springs is closed during Manatee season, there is several places you can get a tour and swim with them in Kings Bay Area. However, there is several rules you need to follow in order to passively observe and not disturb them. It is totally prohibited:

• Chasing or pursuing Manatees
• Disturbing or touching a manatee resting or feeding
• Driving from the surface onto a resting or feeding manatee
• cornering or surrounding a manatee
• Riding, holding, grabbing, pinching, poking or stabbing a manatee with hands or feet
• Standing on an Manatee
• Separating a Mother and calf or separating groups of manatees
• Giving Manatees anything to drink or eat
• Actively initiating contact with belted/tagged manatees
• Interfering with rescue and research activities

Furthermore, from this amazing experience with this mammals I learned: Manatees live in water but they need air to live, they can hold a single breath for about 20 min, they are gentle creatures, manatees are pregnant for one whole year and their babies stay with their moms for 2 full years. They eat in proportion to their bodies meaning they eat a lot! and when they do they make squish sounds underwater while eating almost like a vacuum.

Are Manatees endangered species?

4 years ago U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) down-listed manatees from endangered to threatened. However, according to this article (click here) from WLRN News on September 2021. Manatees are dying to a rate never seen, this year loss represent 10% of the population in the state and what is the main reason of deaths? Starvation.

What is the problem?

Undoubtedly, it is a chain of events caused by toxic algae, also known as Lyngbya (Ling-bee-ah). This dangerous algae clogs the springs leaving the bay without circulation of fresh water, it also kills the seagrass more known on kings bay as Eelgrass (preferred by manatees). As a result, manatees dies from either not finding what to eat or eating the toxic algae, plus poor water quality.

This green-brownish algae has also turned beautiful clear water springs into sticky dark moldy lagoons. but what causes the algae to grow in these places…there is mainly two causes high levels of nutrients in the water from human related activities like sewage, pet waste, fertilizer etc since more and more people live in the coast lines and off course global warming that creates the perfect environment for the algae to reproduce quickly…

What is the solution?

There is a few restoration projects ongoing at Kings Bay Area which dedicate efforts to clean the bay from toxic algae, replant Eelgrass and educate the community about good practices and what to avoid to prevent and maintain future algae from growing in the area. The two major organizations dedicated to this labor are Kings Bay Restoration Project and Save Crystal River with its Responsible Anchoring Program which allow tour boats on Kings Bay to get rebates and better prices to replace anchoring systems for more eco friendly alternatives. If you want to volunteer or donate to any of this ongoing projects this is how you can help:

• For volunteer opportunities send your information with your skills at SaveCrystalRiver@gmail.com
• For Donations using the platform give lively click at Be a Rockstar for the Future
• Using your Amazon smile program search for “Save Crystal River” Charity
• Paypal Charity click here
• Off course spread the word and create awareness in your community, just like me 🙂