Featured Image Credit: http://www.dailymail.co.uk
By: Kira Krall
Kayaking itself is great, but ever heard of a clear kayak? They give you an unparalleled view of the watery world below and sometimes an up-close look at some incredible wildlife. Watch an encounter with everybody’s favorite sea cow below!
Manatees are nearsighted and need to get up real close to objects to investigate them. They also use their prehensile lips to explore texture and taste of things in their environment. The manatee seemingly nibbling on the see-through kayak was likely just curious about the floating conundrum.
You also get an up-close look at the manatee’s whiskers known as vibrissae. They’re sensory hairs that give the manatee even more information about their surrounding environment, including movements of water like the waves a swimming human creates. This feature helps the already vision-impaired sirenian find food. Even manatee calves use their vibrissae to help them locate their food source (mom’s teat).
This video was taken during the tail end of manatee migration season. Despite appearing fat, manatees have a very thin layer of blubber that makes cold stress a problem. They migrate inland toward freshwater springs like the one in the video that stays a balmy 72 degrees year-round. Mid-winter in these toasty environments is where you can find the highest concentrations of West Indian manatees!