Today is the last day to see manatees near TECO's Apollo Beach plant.
By JAY CRIDLIN
Published April 15, 2004
APOLLO BEACH - Jamie Woodlee calls it "stress relief."
First file your tax return, then let a parade of chilly manatees soothe your frazzled nerves.
Today, after all, is not only Tax Day. It's also the final day of the season for Tampa Electric Co.'s Manatee Viewing Center, giving visitors one last glimpse of the creatures before the center shuts down for the summer.
Manatees rarely pop up at the viewing station this late in the year, but Wednesday morning, as bay temperatures hovered in the unseasonably low 60s, about half a dozen made their way back to the warm water discharge area near TECO's Big Bend Power Station.
Station employees had recently reported seeing tarpon, snook and rays, but this was their first significant manatee sighting in more than a week.
"We've had such up-and-down weather that I don't think they know if they're coming or going," said Woodlee, who runs the center's day-to-day operations. "The temperature last night spooked them enough that they came back in."
Wednesday's manatees were a pleasant surprise for visitors.
"We've been down here once before, and we've seen maybe one or two," said Sara Argen of Lutz. "We've never seen as many as we've seen today."
Sisters Jordon and Sydney Crimmins of Beverly Hills, Mich., had to stand on their tiptoes to ooh and ahh at the manatees' giant tail flukes.
"The closest I've come to seeing them is in a science book," said Jordon, 12.
"I haven't even read about them," said 10-year-old Sydney. "I actually thought they wouldn't be friendly. I thought they'd swim away, like, "Don't even look at me."'
If the weather remains cool, Woodlee said there's a good chance the manatees will return today.
"It's nice for visitors that there's something for them to see," Woodlee said. "They're so disappointed when they come out here and see nothing."
Wednesday, no one left disappointed.
"That's one thing we can see here that we can't see in California," said Jesse Whitebear of Clearlake, Calif.
Today is the last day to view manatees, tarpon and other wildlife from Tampa Electric Co.'s Manatee Viewing Center. The observation center is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is at Big Bend and Dickman roads next to TECO'S Big Bend Power Station in Apollo Beach. Admission is free. For more information, call 228-4289.
