dog days of summer

With the mid-day temperatures now reaching into the mid-90's, a week ago, there appeared in the morning light - a special birth in our back, saltwater lagoon.  A birthing mother had found her quiet place, a refuge and a needed sanctuary.

The Florida native, the West Indian Manatee, breeds only once every two years - and then, producing only a single calf.  The large breeding females will range up to 13 feet in length and weigh-in at around 1,300 lbs.  A new born calf can typically weigh-in around 65 lbs and average from 3 to 4 foot long.

Last week, I noticed a large female floating in an unusual, unexpected birthing position. Within hours, a new pair was quietly joined.  Shortly after, both calmly headed back out of our lagoon, out into the cool, open waters of the nearby bay.  With each following early morning, the pair would reappear, but I suspect this to slowly diminish, when they both adjust to their outside adopted grazing grounds.

The mother playfully rolling over on her back with her front flippers exposed, and her new nursing calf hidden under her large 'fluke' tail.

The shy calf only appears ever so briefly

(A week later) - by 10:00 am, when the shallow waters of the lagoon begin to heat up rapidly, uncomfortably so - it's time for mother and 'pup' to head back-out for her preferred feeding grounds, to the sea grass beds of nearby Roberts Bay.