Here’s another short video I’ve shared on Facebook, Instagram and Vimeo chronicling baby manatee adventures! I think you will find manatee calves and their mothers are not so unlike us, in many many ways??
Little Manatees – Born To Explore! by Carol Grant on Vimeo:
I’ll have more video to come, but manatee season will be ramping up soon so forgive me if I’m busy underwater observing the precocious little manatees!
Best, Carol
Baby animals have a particular penchant for being very cute! Little manatee calves rank right up there with the absolutely most adorable junior creatures I’ve encountered! I’d go out on a limb and say they are the “cutest” but I don’t want to upset any other animal moms, especially the mother humpback whales who I witnessed underwater showing off their own offspring a few years ago!
Since I upgraded my underwater camera outfit a couple of years ago to the Nikon d7200 I’ve been able to take some nice HD video and my catalog of clips of adorable young manatees is growing. I still have it housed in a trusty Subal underwater housing and their glass dome port works well for video also. Before this camera that produces video I used a GoPro mounted on top of my setup and captured some incredible moments also, although not quite at the quality of my Nikon. Still, my video vaults are bursting at the seams with cute little manatee antics and I want to share them with you.
Here is the first in a series of manatee compilation videos. I will keep them under 60 seconds so I can post on Instagram, etc. Possibly I’ll put together a longer one if anyone can’t get enough of the pudgy little manatees?. Best, Carol
Manatees Are Just Too Cute! On Vimeo:
There is lots of “Pink” ? floating around for this October 2016 Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It’s important! Many of you know I’m a six-year breast cancer survivor who feels enormously blessed with each and every new day of life! But did you know manatees have intimate ties to our awareness crusade? Manatees get their name from the Carib Indian word “manati” which translates to “woman’s breast”. Possibly observing manatees nursing their little ones is the inspiration behind the original name? Or maybe the first inhabitants of the Caribbean Islands had tales of mermaids too? Early Spanish and Portuguese explorers adopted the local “manati” name for the marine mammal also, but they mistook the meaning for “two hands” which focused on the manatee’s two flippers that are quite “hand-like”.
“Manati” is the Original Carib Indian Name for the Manatee, the Root Word Meaning “Woman’s Breast”. See the Pink on this Manatee’s Forehead? Is She Participating in Breast Cancer Awareness Month? Maybe Not Directly as the “Pink” is from Her Rubbing on a Boat Hull or Something Similar that Had Not Fully Dried Yet. Although, Who Really Knows What this Female Manatee is Communicating?
Our Gal Manatee Has Quite the Color Sense! Pink Paint from Rubbing on a Boat Hull or Something Similar is All Down Her Back! She’s into Pink!
I photographed this pretty and charismatic manatee gal in February 2010. Continue reading