Manatees at Chankanaab

I was a full on tourist today!  I went to Chankanaab Park.  And did the "Swim with Manatees" thing.  Very super cool!

If you're like me, then your first thought might be, those kinds of things are cruel to the animals. Who knows, there might be some truth to that thought.  But I don't think so. 

The reason I think it's Ok to have swam with the manatees, is that they are actually reproducing in the space they live in.  Generally speaking, animals don't breed if they feel stressed or unhappy.  Then there the fact (I hope it's true) that one of the manatees I hung out with was a rescue.  He got stuck in a small area of water, ate all the food there was, then started to munch on plastic bags.  He was going to die.  So the government allowed the organization to rescue him, do endoscopic surgery to remove the plastic bags from his gut, and feed him papaya.  Which apparently has healing properties.  I hope that this information was not a bold faced lie.  I should read about it.  Wikipedia knows everything.....

So the event went like this.  I'm the only tourist in the pen.  With five manatees, four trainers, and one photographer.  What a treat!  Once in the water, Jesse, my guide, let me feed the manatees lettuce, kiss them, hug them, "dance" with them, and then swim around with them!  The four trainers were there to make sure I wasn't totally overwhelmed by the five manatees at once.  I had two at the most with me at any time, usually just one.  The trainers fed the others to distract me.

I learned this. Manatees are mammals.  Endangered.  They have no teeth, but tough gums.  The have a belly button.  Their nipples are under their flippers.  You can see the boys' genitalia.  It's about where you'd expect it to be.  They see in colour.  But close their eyes when on the water's surface to protect them from the sun.  Their nostrils close when in the water.  They move slowly and grow moss on their backs.  They have nails on their fins, just like elephants have on their feet.  They're in the same family. They're endangered.  Mostly because of pollution and boat propellers. 

The photographer took 160 pictures of me.  I can only show you the one they printed because I took a picture of it.  The rest are on a CD and I don't have a CD reader with me.....


Photos:
#1 - me smiling like crazy with my friend, the manatee!
#2- a worker pushing many coolers of fish for the "swim with the dolphins" events
#2 - a crocodile.  he blinked.  I know he was alive
#4 - the tequila tour set up.  very cheery!