E.G. Simmons Regional Park, Ruskin, Fl.
John and Shirley drove up from Port Charlotte to visit us. We took them to a healthy lunch of strawberry shortcake, whipped cream, ice cream and chocolate syrup at Goodson Farms Strawberry Market!
The tide was in and the water was much more clear for viewing the manatee. They are not fish, they are air breathing mammals. They weigh about 1200 lbs. Man is their biggest predator; boat strikes injure and kill many every year. The one in the lower left has propellor wounds on its back. The lower right has one dragging an antennae on a lease; it has recently been hospitalized so it needs to be monitored. Also in that photo is a mother flanked by two pups.
