A little bit north of Tulum there is a place called Dolphin Discovery. It is completely overrun with tourists, but you can have encounters with seals and sea-lions, or dolphins, and even feed manatees. My dad decided to surprise me with tickets to the manatee feeding. I thought that I was going to throw in a head of lettuce and then leave. But when the instructor came, he handed me snorkeling equipment and lead me and seven other people into the water [[including my sister and my father]]. We had the ability to snorkel with manatees. Manatees are my favorite marine mammals (close second and third are the Dugong and the Humpback whale, respectively). We were given the opportunity to feed Romeo, Juliet, and their daughter, who was only six months and about 500 pounds. We were able to touch their bodies, but asked to avoid touching their heads or tails. The six month old ate from my hands; she came up to me when I had lettuce and took it with her "arms" and went deeper to eat it. Needless to say, it was the best thing ever. They are so gentle and friendly. They were not scared of us at all; in fact, they swam right up to us and looked us right in the eyes.
Please people, be careful! These amazing beautiful and gentle creatures are endangered!
In 2007, 416 manatees were killed in Florida alone.
The most common manatee deaths by humans are:
1. getting hit by water craft and getting stuck in the propeller, crushing, or impact
2. drowned by canal locks and flood gates
3. poaching, entrapment, and ingesting fishing supplies or other litter
[[credit: Fish and Wildlife Research Institute]]
Please guys, be good to the manatees
