Overview
- Blue Spring State Park recorded 697 manatees on New Year’s Day, according to the park’s official count.
- Video from the Southwest Florida Water Management District showed substantial congregations at Three Sisters Springs on New Year’s Eve.
- Central Florida lows in the 30s and 40s triggered the migrations to warm springs, with freeze and frost alerts reported in some areas.
- Manatees face cold stress below about 68 degrees and rely on constant 72-degree spring water because they have limited fat and slow metabolisms.
- The water management district completed shoreline stabilization at Three Sisters, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service limits access during manatee season from Nov. 15 to April 1, with peak viewing on cold days from mid-November through early March.