By Arden Gregory
Through March, Blue Spring State Park plays host to one of Florida’s most fascinating mammals — The West Indian Manatee.
Situated two miles west of Orange City, the land was settled by the Thursby family in the late 1800s. Although the spring was a depot for steamships transporting citrus and other raw materials throughout Central Florida along the St. Johns River, the area attracted northerners because of its crystal clear water and vast array of wildlife. Supervised today by Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection, and managed by the Division of Parks and Recreation, the Blue Spring Run and its year round 72 degree water temperature, are still a magnet for tourists because it is a safe haven for manatees through the winter months.
Also known as the Florida Manatee and able to survive in salt or fresh water, the large creatures show up in the Blue Springs Run as temperatures in the St. Johns River and surrounding coastal waters, dip for the docile and gentle mammal.
“When their body temperature reaches 68 degrees, their digestive tract shuts down and continues to shut down other vital organs,” said Laura Kruger, park specialist and 14-year veteran of park services. ”We had upwards to 340 plus manatees in the run last January, when the temperatures were the coldest.”
Manatees spend most of their summer in the saltwater coastal areas of Central Florida. When water temperatures go down they begin their long annual trek back to Blue Spring. This entails a commute through brackish water, but they eventually spend winter in a total freshwater environment. The mammal can lay submerged for 20 minutes while resting, before it has to resurface for air.
“They can survive the abrupt change in water salinity, simply because they are mammals and breathe air,” said Dr. Deborah Woodall, head of the Environmental Science Department at Daytona State College.
During the “season” at Blue Spring, Kruger launches a research vessel for a daily morning count, identification and assessment of the manatee’s arrival in the run. She embarks upstream towards the spring-head or “boil,” a term used to describe the strong current upwelling from the Florida aquifer. It wasn’t long on one recent trip before shouts were heard from the back of the vessel, “Look! There’s Georgia with her calf,” exclaimed Kruger.
Georgia, a recent mother, with an estimated weight of 1,800 pounds and the capability of capsizing the small vessel, glided gracefully alongside her calf within oars-length of the vessel. It was a sight that brought silence and a sense of wonder to those in the craft. What goes through the mind of the gentle giant as a boat approaches Georgia and her calf?
Kruger explained the lack of fear the manatees seem to have of such vessels. This relaxed demeanor is due to the familiarity manatees have with the vessel and its former captain, Wayne C. Harley, who recently retired after 30 years with the park service. It was a treat to see them approach the boat, seemingly to offer a morning greeting! A few others followed behind, as if to say, “Wait for me!”
Armed with a motion picture camera, Ranger Kruger was a hundred yards downstream of the boil when she said, “Oh Look! There’s Jackie.” The camera was raised and zoomed in on the small floating buoy attached to a 12-foot cord, which seemed to have a life of its’ own. Attached to the other end? — Jackie.
Jackie was found abandoned in 2001and at the time was a newborn weighing 65 pounds. She was bottled fed and monitored by SeaWorld experts, then released, weighing over 800 pounds, into the waters surrounding the spring in February 2011. She is being monitored with a satellite tracking device for the next two years to gather information on her migratory, mating and feeding habits. With luck, this information will ensure she can survive in the wild after being raised in captivity. Jackie seems to be doing just fine.
She approached the craft with tracking device in tow and turned to the camera with what seemed to be a smile.
“Watch, she’ll follow us now,” Kruger said.
Jackie, however, seemed to be joining her fellow “sea-cows” — an alternate name for the odd-looking creature with a seal-like face, a cow-like body and the tail of a mermaid. She headed south to feed as the sun rose, warming the waters of the St. Johns River that teems with aquatic plant life — the sole diet of the aquatic bovine.
As the journey ended, it was delighted, but still disturbing due to the large amount of scars witnessed on the manatees’ backs and tails from motorized watercraft. Although there are speed restrictions within certain areas on Central Florida’s waterways, those were a harsh reminder of man’s effect on other species in Mother Nature’s environment.
Blue Spring Park is located in Orange City at 2100 W. French Ave. It is open from 8 a.m. to sunset 365 days a year. Admission is $6 per vehicle (2-8 people), $4 single occupant vehicle, $2 for pedestrians, bicyclists, extra passengers or passengers in a vehicle with holder of Annual Individual Entrance Pass. Camping is $24 per night, plus tax and includes water and electricity. Cabins can be rented for $95 nightly. Call 386-775-3663 for information.
Florida residents 65 years of age or older or who hold a Social Security disability award certificate or a 100 percent disability award certificate from the Federal Government are permitted to receive a 50 percent discount on current base campsite fees if they can prove eligibility.