Description
LOCATION: Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, USA.
STORY: This is what happens when you eat nothing but lean protein and do 2000 crunches per day!
This gentile giant sea potato is just a young calf, and it’s mother isn’t too far away, but she was happy to let me take over babysitting duties as she caught a long, well-deserved nap. I was the only human in the headspring on this day, and I became it’s favorite play toy. He’d swim at me, crashing into me and my camera over and over, begging to be belly-scratched. Every 20-30 minutes, the baby manatee would swim back to his mother and nurse under her pectoral flipper for a few minutes, and then come racing back to me with a playful crash. All the while, mama manatee just lounged and snoozed about 15′ away. This pose was my most memorable moment of the day – I love his playful expression and coy hands, like he’s hiding something. And who knew you could flex a jelly roll into a six pack?!?
Crystal River’s Three Sister Springs is perhaps the best-known sanctuary for our beloved West Indian Manatees (Trichechus manatus). While they visit these freshwater springs year-round, their numbers greatly increase during the colder months when the manatees take advantage of the warm, drinking-quality water that pumps out from the spring. These crystal-clear waters are one of Florida’s greatest natural treasures, and the fight for their preservation has been raging for decades, as big corporate bottled water companies and industrialized farms have been trying every legal loophole to get this water, while conservationists value the springs for the habitat that hundreds of native species rely on, for the beauty of and recreational use by Floridians, and for the rich cultural Native American history that has depended on the springs since the first tribes settled here. Guess which side of the isle I stand on? But I’d love for you to experience swimming with manatees for yourself – it’s a life-changing experience. I’ve also taken plenty of non-swimming friends & family to observe the manatees from above water at the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge and the nearby Homosassa Springs State Wildlife Park. Before you go, be sure to watch the Manatee Manners video, produced by the US Fish & Wildlife Service. The short film teaches you how to ethically and legally observe and interact with manatees for their benefit, and so you don’t end up with a hefty fine or even jail time!
TO PURCHASE: When it comes to buying Six Pack as wall art, it’s available in custom sizing up to 150″ tall, printed on our metallic canvas, or on high-gloss aluminum. You’ll find it in available online in our standard sizes starting at a glossy photo paper print matted to 16×20″, and in several of our more popular sizes. But of course, we are happy to take your custom measurements and provide you with a Virtual Installation to preview it in your space and help you with the design process. And all manatee lovers should also check out BFF’s, which resembles a portrait of the Three Stooges, and Tender Moment, where a manatee calf is nursing from it’s mother.
For other sizing options and materials for this manatee wall decor, please email the gallery at design@gugunderwater.com