Manatees

 Manatees are prevalent around this area of Florida. In winter, manatees often gather near the warm-water outflows of power plants along the Florida coast, instead of migrating south as they once did.

 This area of Florida, Stuart and vicinities, have been known to attract them hence many signs are up for protecting them. 

Eventhough they seem to be residing around the area at this time of the year, they are not seen on a daily basis, hence when one is spotted, it is a rare occasion, and one that needs to be captured.

My first spotting of a Manatee was at the St Lucie inlet.

Saw him/her bop up several times during a course of a period of time taking in some air.

I waited and hoped.

And clicked.

I know they are not the clearest photos but ones I was able to capture while he/she surfaced to the top.

Next spotting was at the Manatee Observation and Education Cente, which is a waterfront environmental education and wildlife viewing center located on Florida's east coast in downtown Fort Pierce.

A mom and a pup hanging out together, barely on the surface.

And an older male hanging in and around the vicinity.

 Manatees weigh 400 to 550 kg (880 to 1,210 lb), and average 2.8 to 3.0 m (9 ft 2 in to 9 ft 10 in) in length, sometimes growing to 4.6 m (15 ft 1 in) and 1,775 kg (3,913 lb) and females tend to be larger and heavier than males.  They are sometimes known as Sea Cows. 

At birth, baby manatees weigh about 30 kg (66 lb) each. The female manatee has two teats, one under each flipper, a characteristic that was used to make early links between the manatee and elephants.

The lids of manatees' small, widely spaced eyes close in a circular manner. The manatee has a large, flexible, prehensile upper lip, used to gather food and eat and for social interaction and communication. Manatees have shorter snouts than their fellow sirenians, the dugongs.

Manatee adults have no incisor or canine teeth, just a set of cheek teeth, which are not clearly differentiated into molars and premolars. These teeth are repeatedly replaced throughout life, with new teeth growing at the rear as older teeth fall out from farther forward in the mouth, somewhat as elephants' teeth do. At any time, a manatee typically has no more than six teeth in each jaw of its mouth.

 Apart from mothers with their young, or males following a receptive female, manatees are generally solitary animals.^[Manatees spend approximately 50% of the day sleeping submerged, surfacing for air regularly at intervals of less than 20 minutes. The remainder of the time is mostly spent grazing in shallow waters at depths of 1–2 m (3 ft 3 in – 6 ft 7 in). The Florida subspecies (T. m. latirostris) has been known to live up to 60 years.

Unlike the notorious Florida alligator,  manatees are calm and peaceful marine mammals that pose no danger to swimmers. In fact, they are curious animals that enjoy human interaction and are quite happy to relate with and be around humans.

(source)