Sunday, November 29, 2009

Manatee

Today we drove the 40 miles on Hwy 70 to Fort Pierce.

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Today we took a drive to the Manatee Center at Fort Pierce. Manatee like the warm water. The Manatee Center is located at the exhaust cooling water outlet of a power plant.

The manatee we found was in the marina next to the manatee center.

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Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus Trichechus) are large, fully aquatic marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. They are noted for their rather friendly nature, large size (up to 4 metres) and paddle-like flippers.

Manatees are mainly herbivores, spending most of their time grazing in shallow waters and at depths of 1-2 metres (3-7 ft). Much of the knowledge about manatees is based upon research done in Florida and cannot necessarily be attributed to all types of manatees. Generally, manatees have a mean mass of 400 to 550 kilograms (880 to 1,200 lb), and mean length of 2.8 to 3 metres (9.2 to 9.8 ft), with maximums of 3.6 metres (12 ft) and 1,775 kilograms (3,910 lb) seen (the females tend to be larger and heavier). When born, baby manatees have an average mass of 30 kilograms (66 lb).

On average, most manatees swim at about 5 to 8 kilometres per hour (3.1 to 5.0 mph). However, they have been known to swim at up to 30 kilometres per hour (19 mph) in short bursts.

Then off to see the Atlantic Ocean at Fort Pierce.

The signs have a different look around here.

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We found the dog friendly beach.

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Look what the tide brings in.

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Then on the way home we took Hwy 714. Parts of the highway are on the shady side.

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All for today.

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