Manatees and Aquatic Grass Restoration

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The Florida Manatee is a pretty easy going marine mammal. They eat various aquatic vegetation, seek warm water sites in the winter and peaceful shallow waters to raise their calves. With these rather simple demands one would think the manatee has a seemingly bucolic existence.

Doesn’t this manatee look contented while taking a breath? It’s been munching on an area of restored seagrass near the entrance to Three Sisters Spring, Crystal River, Florida. Photograph from November 2020.Well fed manatee taking a breath in between grazing on restored aquatic grasses

Unfortunately a totally carefree existence is not in the cards for our beloved manatees as they face many challenges throughout their range. Florida manatees have been in the news lately Continue reading

Manatee Mother and Calf––On the Cover

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Ever since the first edition in 2006 of The Florida Manatee: Biology and Conservation by Roger L. Reep and Robert K. Bonde, I’ve experienced heartfelt joy every time a manatee question of mine has been fully answered in the interesting pages of this book. Now, a second edition of the book is coming out soon with a tender photograph of a mother manatee with her young calf on the cover. 

The photograph was taken by me on the Spring Equinox in 2019. I am so proud to have this photograph on the cover of this new second edition. Book,2nd edition,The Florida Manatee,

I remember every detail about this heartfelt encounter. Would you like to know more about this charismatic manatee mother and approximately two-week-old calf? 
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International Manatee Day

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Manatee mom calf,Carol Grant,(c)Oceangrant.com,

Today, September 7th is International Manatee Day. We celebrate not only the Florida manatee, but all other manatee and dugong species around the world!
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BIG—Manatee Appreciation 

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For this Manatee Appreciation Day I want to spread a little warm cheer that’s so much needed at this time. I’m going to tell you the story of these giant manatee buddies from the building in Chicago.

Manatees greeted Chicagoans this past winter. Photo courtesy Crystal River Boat Builders Photo credit:  ©️Donna MartinManatees,building,Chicago,

When I saw this photograph posted by the Crystal River Boat Builders on Facebook, I knew it was my photograph of two of my favorite manatees but I didn’t know who was behind it? Continue reading

Happy 2019 to Manatees and Mankind

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2019 is upon us, both ourselves and our close neighbors, the Florida manatees. It’s at this time I’ll look back at a few highlights of 2018 and look forward to new adventures in 2019!

Now 2018 wasn’t all about adorable manatees (although they are certainly unforgettable). My awarded photograph of a manatee and snapper is on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. till September 2019. The Nature’s Best Photography exhibition is inspiring, be sure to see it! Continue reading

Smithsonian Nature’s Best Photography Event at the National Museum of Natural History

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Henry, the enormous African elephant stood strong and proud while animals from his homeland, and other places far and wide, were projected around the rotunda of the National Museum of Natural History, Washington D.C. It was the evening of November 15th, nine days ago and there was a sense of magic in the air!

A Florida manatee was included. My photograph of a Florida manatee and schooling snapper was a Highly Honored winner and will now hang in the Smithsonian for a year!

Myself and my husband Theo Grant, by my manatee photograph in the Nature’s Best Photography–Windland Smith Rice International Awards. ©️Nature’s Best Awards 2018

I’m thrilled to see it in the museum and also glad it is hung low where children can easily engage with it. Continue reading

Manatee with Snapper-Smithsonian Nature’s Best Photography Exhibit

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Beautiful blue warm spring water, tide recedes, a male manatee stretches, and snapper line up as if for roll call. Does it sound too fanciful to be real? Something ‘Through the Looking Glass’ author Lewis Carroll would have imagined?

The natural world is mysteriously beautiful, and this underwater scene truly did happen, as pictured. A beautiful Florida wild moment in time.

Florida manatee with snapper. People enjoy adding their own take on this.”First Day of School”? “Crossing Guard?” Could be? Only they know for sure 😉.

When manatee stretch and stir near the warm spring outflows, they may kick up invertebrates or other organisms in the sand. Although, I’ve never seen Continue reading

All In The Flip of a Manatee’s Tail

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Fifteen to twenty miles per hour, that’s the approximate burst speed of our Florida manatees. Usually they saunter along up to 5mph, but with that powerful tail they can really turn on the speed. Here’s another in my series of telling stories and data behind recent manatee images.

A manatee’s paddle-like tail is lit with warm sunlight. This manatee is relaxed and slowly sauntering but it can reach speeds up to 20 mph. Image from March 2018, Three Sisters Springs, Crystal River, Florida.

In comparison, other ocean friends can move along pretty quickly too. Octopus can exceed 25 mph, Continue reading

Baby Manatees Are Like Babies Everywhere

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A bright, excited and eager face greets you with overwhelming curiosity, wrinkly skin and a messy snout with algae not yet washed off. I’m talking about this adorable baby manatee, but I could be illustrating many other species of cute little ones across our planet!

Baby manatee with a messy snout and fish friend explores his environment in the springs. Recent image. Three Sisters Springs, Crystal River, Florida.

This is another in my series telling stories behind my recent images from the past two seasons. Continue reading

More About Bday Manatees

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My last post about all the amazing manatees that have made many of my birthdays memorable, drummed up a lot of interest. I thought I’d delineate which manatees and friends showed up on which of my Feb. 11th birthdays these past few years 2011-2018 and tell a bit of the story behind the shots. Of course I’ve seen manatees on birthdays before these years, but this is the best number for an impactful photo collage.

Manatees and Friends who showed up for my Feb. 11th birthdays from 2011 to 2018 years listed below. Three Sisters Springs, Crystal River, FL.Bday manatees,©Carol Grant - oceangrant.com

I’ll start with the latest, Feb 11, 2018 Continue reading

Birthday Manatees and Friends

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Tradition…, yes it applies to my time observing manatees in our lovely springs, especially on my Birthday!

A few of the photos taken on my Bdays from: 2011/2012/2013/2014/2015/2016/2017/2018Manatees,my Bday,

Even though this last Bday on Feb 11th was unseasonably hot, we were still excited to see several manatees Continue reading

Happy Holidays from Carol and Manatees

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Happy Holidays 2017! I wish everyone a fun and joyous time with relatives and friends! A few days ago this sweet mother manatee and her calf swam up behind me. It was quite the seasonal surprise! Of course the charismatic pair got dibs to be featured on our holiday E-Card:

HOLIDAY GREETINGS!Happy Holidays,©Carol Grant,2017,manatees

We have had odd weather lately, either too hot or too cool and not much in-between, On  December 19th I visited the springs when it wasn’t too warm or too cold. Here is another Continue reading

Manatee Selfies

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Selfies…, well we used to call them self-portraits, but now it seems they have taken on a viral life of their own! Those who know me realize I’m always very focused on making the most of my time photographing manatees in Florida’s striking springs. I know I’m a bit light on photographs of myself as it’s not an area I put much attention on. Mainly I want compelling photographs of Florida manatees, the lovely springs, and polite passive observation of our Sirenian friends. Therefore, I often forget that some people would like to see pictures of me in the springs.

Periodically I do get requests, usually from magazines, for a photograph of myself underwater with a manatee. I didn’t have much in my archives, so I took up the new challenge! These three “selfies” are just the beginning of what turned out to be numerous photos from this day, the tip of the iceberg so to speak. I donned a more flattering mask than my usual black non-photogenic one I always wear. Then I really hoped there would be an interested manatee who wanted to be in the frame with me. It turned out I got much much more than I bargained for!? 

Manatees are curious about what Carol was up to? My vision was to include as much of the beauty of the springs, the striking light, lovely blue sky and engaging manatees in my self-portraits. I wanted to show what it is like to be underwater and photograph these unique marine mammals. February 2017.manatees,selfie,Carol Grant,springs,underwater

Since I’ve got several manatee projects on-going, I’ll include just three photographs from this experiment. The self-portrait showcase will continue after I get caught up. Continue reading

Manatee Advice for the New Year

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Happy New Year! May 2017 be filled with happiness while flourishing and prospering!?

Manatees know a thing or two about New Years, prosperity and all! In fact I put together this video chronicling some wise manatee advice for the upcoming year, 2017. This is all manatee footage from my recent sojourns to the springs in December 2016, so the sage wisdom is current and up-to-date! Here’s the “Happy New Year’s Advice from the Manatees” on Vimeo:

2016 was chocked-full of exciting events for us! There’s too much to summarize in this post, so here’s our “Holiday Greetings from the Grants 2016”

Holiday Greeting From The Grants 2016

Last, there is definitely a bit of “Auld Lang Syne”. Continue reading

Little Manatees Are Born To Explore!

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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