The manatee is a sea mammal sometimes referred to as the sea cow, and a couple of weeks ago we went for a snorkeling tour to look for one here in Belize. We were lucky. It was the first time ever that I got to see this huge animal, measuring about 3 metres and with a fat, clumsy looking body, the manatee was graciously swimming around and using the least effort possible when moving its little front flippers to turn, it was really funny. We kept our distance to respect the animal, and got to be completely alone with it for a while as it was checking us out, seemingly unbothered by our presence. A very cool experience with one of nature’s more strange and less studied creations.
Do check out the video below to see how beautifully calm and slow this thing is.