ALABAMA


GEORGIA


ATLANTIC OCEAN


Tallahassee Panama City Jacksonville


UNITED STATES


Gulf of Mexico Kings Bay


Crystal River Springs


CRYSTAL RIVER Orlando Florida manatee range Tampa


Manatees on the Move


The ocean is too cold for Florida manatees in winter. Many fi nd a home in Kings Bay where the water is warmer.


FLORIDA Okeechobee Lake West Fort Myers Palm Beach Fort Lauderdale Miami


Year-round Warm-weather months


ATLANTIC OCEAN


Gulf of Mexico


Key West


A visitor looks down into the water at Kings Bay. He describes the animal he sees. “It’s like a big rusty oilcan,” he says. He has a point. Manatees may never win beauty contests. Yet that doesn’t mean that people don’t fl ock to see them.


Here in Florida, tourists come from far and wide. T ey want to see, touch, and swim with the manatees. T e manatees don’t seem to mind. But is it a good idea?


4 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER


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