Everyone has a bucket list, right? Even if they don't call it that or have it written down, everyone has stuff they want to do before they die. This post is about something on mine.
I don't know how I only discovered this recently since they have been my favorite animal for as long as I have known of their existence, but I found out about a month ago that you can swim with manatees in Florida. Lord have mercy. The thought alone makes me so happy that I could cry.
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| I want to go to there. |
Manatees are literally the most perfect creatures on the planet and I want to hug them all of the time. They're mainly herbivores, so they're automatically sweeter than predators. According to Wikipedia, "adults have no incisor or canine teeth, just a set of cheek teeth ... At any given time, a manatee typically has no more than six teeth in each jaw of its mouth." See! They couldn't hurt you if they tried. Precious ocean lettuce eaters with only twelve teeth, and they don't even have any sharp ones. Adorable. They have a long term memory and when the females have calves, they barely leave each other's side for up to 2 years.
So speaking of the sweet, loving, mama manatee, I would like to introduce you to my favorite meme of all time: The Calming Manatee. Do yourself a favor - dowload all of these photos to your phone and whenever a friend is having a bad day, send them one. You can't be upset! Mama manatee will comfort you with her deep, slow voice and her big mama manatee hugs.
Try to be upset when you're looking at these. Just try it. I dare ya.
JUST LOOK AT THEM! They just want you to be happy, even though they have been through so much. The reason I love manatees so much is because they get kind of a raw deal. These poor guys are called sea cows, and I hate that because cows are common, dull creatures and manatees are beautiful and kind and in constant danger. The majority of manatee deaths are caused by humans. They swim in warm, shallow water and they can only hear high frequencies, so the low frequencies of most boats confuse them and these poor harmless creatures are regularly mutilated. It's not uncommon to see manatees with huge gashes on their backs from boat propellers. So sad. All they wanted to do was eat some seaweed.
The first time I saw a manatee I thought it was so ugly that it was cute. The ugliest, and therefore the cutest thing I'd ever seen. I remember discovering them at SeaWorld and waiting the whole day to spend any of my allowance in the various shops until we went back to the manatee habitat at the end of the day and I bought a necklace and a cup. I lost the cup, but I still have the necklace, and I have never stopped loving them. If anything, I love them more. A few years ago I went to SeaWorld with my husband and I was SO excited to see the manatee habitat. I was sick that day and feeling pretty crappy by the end of the day. We had avoided that area of the park the whole day so that we could save it for last and when we got there, we were told that they had been moved to a new location a few months earlier. Devastated doesn't cover how I felt. Luckily, I had these guys to get me through the heartache:
And just when you think it can't get any cuter, here you go, let me show you the cutest thing you will lay eyes on today. BABY MANATEES.
Come on. Just... come on. I want to squeeze them because there is no animal on earth more adorable than a baby manatee. NONE. When I found that last picture I showed it to my husband and told him that I need one or I will die. He said I might be exaggerating. I don't know what he's talking about, I've never exaggerated a day in my life.
Even science thinks that manatees are awesome. Here, I will prove it.
You know what, even when they're being really really dumb, they're still cute:
http://cheezburger.com/6091301632
So speaking of the sweet, loving, mama manatee, I would like to introduce you to my favorite meme of all time: The Calming Manatee. Do yourself a favor - dowload all of these photos to your phone and whenever a friend is having a bad day, send them one. You can't be upset! Mama manatee will comfort you with her deep, slow voice and her big mama manatee hugs.
Try to be upset when you're looking at these. Just try it. I dare ya.
JUST LOOK AT THEM! They just want you to be happy, even though they have been through so much. The reason I love manatees so much is because they get kind of a raw deal. These poor guys are called sea cows, and I hate that because cows are common, dull creatures and manatees are beautiful and kind and in constant danger. The majority of manatee deaths are caused by humans. They swim in warm, shallow water and they can only hear high frequencies, so the low frequencies of most boats confuse them and these poor harmless creatures are regularly mutilated. It's not uncommon to see manatees with huge gashes on their backs from boat propellers. So sad. All they wanted to do was eat some seaweed.
The first time I saw a manatee I thought it was so ugly that it was cute. The ugliest, and therefore the cutest thing I'd ever seen. I remember discovering them at SeaWorld and waiting the whole day to spend any of my allowance in the various shops until we went back to the manatee habitat at the end of the day and I bought a necklace and a cup. I lost the cup, but I still have the necklace, and I have never stopped loving them. If anything, I love them more. A few years ago I went to SeaWorld with my husband and I was SO excited to see the manatee habitat. I was sick that day and feeling pretty crappy by the end of the day. We had avoided that area of the park the whole day so that we could save it for last and when we got there, we were told that they had been moved to a new location a few months earlier. Devastated doesn't cover how I felt. Luckily, I had these guys to get me through the heartache:
And just when you think it can't get any cuter, here you go, let me show you the cutest thing you will lay eyes on today. BABY MANATEES.
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| Don't worry scared baby, I'll hold you. |
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| Losing your mama must be rough, but I'll take care of you, Baby Manatee. |
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| CUTEST THING OF MY LIFE! |
Even science thinks that manatees are awesome. Here, I will prove it.
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| This is science. |
http://cheezburger.com/6091301632
THAT IS THE CUTEST GIF OF ALL TIME. I obviously have seen every gif ever invented ever and so I can say with absolutely certainty that this is the best one of them all. Don't even try to question it, you'll hurt yourself. But don't worry - if you do hurt yourself, Calming Manatee will be there to help.
So now you know a tiny part of the reason why swimming with manatees is on my bucket list. It's achievable, because you can do it in Florida and I need to go to Florida anyway for my other obsession, so obviously this trip will be happening someday - hopefully soon. Don't expect the pictures to be pretty though, because I will probably have a Kristen-Bell-meets-a-sloth moment when I am finally up close and personal with one of these precious creatures. I CAN'T WAIT.
I love manatees!! They are so adorable, I also love beluga whales.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember which particular Google keywords I used to stumble across this post, but I think they might have been "someone else who understands what the best animal is." :) (Or maybe I was just looking for manatees. Also possible.)
ReplyDelete