Seeing a manatee in the wild was on my Bucket List and now I can cross it off after visiting the Manatee Viewing Center (MVC). Big Bend Power Station in Apollo Beach, Florida, is one place manatees gather when Tampa Bay becomes too cold during the fall and winter.
According to the TECO Tampa Electric website, "Manatees gather in large numbers in the power station's discharge canal, where saltwater – taken from Tampa Bay to cool the units' flows, clean and warm, back to the bay.
This photo and title image courtesy Tampa Electric
"When Tampa Bay reaches 68 degrees or colder, the mammals seek out warm water refuges such as springs and power plants. Big Bend's discharge canal is a state and federally designated manatee sanctuary that provides critical protection from the cold for these unique, gentle animals."
MVC is free and offers a boardwalk-like observation area, a mile-long winding habitat loop trail, and a wildlife observation tower offering a 50-foot-high vantage point.
The facility is a partnership between Tampa Electric, the Florida Aquarium, the University of Florida, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Manatees live in coastal rivers, estuaries, and canals and move freely within salt, brackish, and freshwater habitats, often in water less than six-feet deep, where underwater vegetation is most abundant. Manatees are a migratory species; scientists estimate there are 6,000 in Florida's waters.
Read more about manatees on the MVC website.
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