What are Manatees

For Florida, the manatee is the state’s marine mammal. It is a rather large mammal that lives in water and is related to the elephant. The manatee is a grayish brown color. Their skin is rather thick and wrinkly looking. You may also see some algae growing on their skin. They have flippers located in the front that help enable them to travel through shallow water. Their tails are very strong. The tail helps them move quickly through the water. They have tiny eyes and no outer ears but seem to hear and see pretty good. Manatees living in Florida mostly live in the coastal waters during the winter months. Some have been known to travel north towards the Carolina’s during the summer months. They have also been seen in the Louisiana area during the summer. Manatees like warm water. Nothing colder than 68 degrees Fahrenheit. That is why it is a little surprising that they have been seen as far north a Cape Cod, Massachusetts recently. They mostly live in shallow areas of rivers, bays and coastal waters where the sun tends to keep the water warmest.

Woman Takes a Ride on a Manatee

Manatees are gentle and slow moving creatures. That is why it would have been so easy for Ana Gloria Garcia Gutierrrez, a 52 year old woman to ride one. Manatees like to do body surfing and the barrel roll when they are in a playful mood. I guess this one didn’t do any of that while Ana was riding it.

It Was Against the Law

What Ana didn’t realize as she was joy riding on the Manatee is that it is against the law to bother a manatee let alone ride one. For her time of fun, she could spend 60 days in jail and have to pay a fine of $500. Riding or touching a manatee is considered a second degree misdemeanor.