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There will always be captive manatees at Homosassa Springs, officials say, but what the facilities look like and whether wild manatees should be allowed access is under discussion.
By BARBARA BEHRENDT
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 12, 2001
HOMOSASSA SPRINGS -- Over the years, the scene has been repeated countless times.
Tourists arrive at the Fishbowl Observatory in the Homosassa Springs State Wildlife Park. They step down under the waterline to view the rotund, rolling animals through the thick windows of the observatory.
Unfamiliar with the critters, they might assume they are walruses or perhaps fat dolphins.
But these are manatees, the non-Floridians quickly learn.
These creatures are endangered and fiercely protected by some locals who consider them their own. Rangers, volunteers and regular park visitors even know the Homosassa Springs manatees by name. They know their life history, their habits and their likes and dislikes.
That familiarity is a mixed blessing now that state and federal officials are discussing changes in the way the park handles manatees. What will happen is up in the air, but it seems sure that changes are on the way, changes that could mean some or all of the current captive herd might be moved away.
But the changes might also mean that on a cool winter day sometime in the future, dozens of manatees, instead of just the park's nine captive ones, will be jammed around the Fishbowl windows trying to get as close to the warm spring waters under the observatory as they can.
According to park manager Tom Linley, changes in the park's manatee program should not be a surprise. How to protect manatees has changed over the years as new information about the endangered animals becomes available.
Most recently, state and federal officials have voiced concern that the year-round temperature of the spring where the park's captives live has not been healthy for the manatees. Experts surmise that the constant water temperature may be contributing to abnormalities in the captives and might also be why the park's manatees developed the papillomavirus several years ago.
The virus, the first-ever identified in manatees, prompted a quarantine of park manatees. Rather than bringing animals in and releasing them, as had been done in the past, officials decided to keep them at the park to avoid spreading the disease. They still haven't determined whether the virus, which causes lesions on the animals, is just an annoyance or a potentially deadly organism.
Officials are discussing sending some of the park's manatees to Harbor Branch, an oceanographic center in Fort Pierce where scientists will try to treat the virus, possibly by varying water temperature and salinity. While wild manatees live in waters that vary from 78 to 86 degrees much of the year, the park's manatees must live in 72 to 76 degree water and that might be hurting the animals, Linley said.
Meanwhile, plans are on the drawing board for two different treatment facilities at the park. The park has considered building a pond connected to the natural spring water system where animals can be isolated, examined and treated. Now the park will also be building a second, above-ground pond where animals can stay as they are treated and monitored.
Linley said he expects there will always be some captives at the park because some animals can never be released, and others will require temporary treatment. But he also said that removing the barriers that keep wild manatees out and captives in would be a real plus for wild animals in the winter when they seek warmer waters.
Park visitors could also benefit. "Can you imagine on a cold day like today having 100 manatees crowded up here?" Linley said. "That would also reduce the number of people who have to get into the water with them to see them."
Currently, the wild herd cannot come up close to the park because of the barriers. But the animals also don't approach the barriers, because the water there is shallow and clogged by sediment that has collected over the years.
Plans are in the works for the park to team up with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the shallow area, which is closed to boaters now, allowing easier access for manatees to move toward the spring.
The work is expected to cost between $400,000 and $1-million and will be paid for by the Army Corps of Engineers and the park.
Coupled with other restoration projects, Linley said the goal is to try to re-create the natural spring-fed system that has been damaged over the years by activities in the park and surrounding area, including building the limerock trails and putting in various water-control structures.
"The real reason is not for manatees but for river restoration and water quality issues," Linley said. "What we're trying to do is repair what we've screwed up in the last 40 to 50 years."
But manatees will benefit too, especially from the dredging project that will allow them to get closer to the spring.
Linley is a strong believer that the public needs places like the park where they can see the animals without having to get into the water.
"It's our expectation that we'll always have some captives here," Linley said. "We've been in the manatee rehabilitation business for 20 years. . . We do education, and millions of people learn about manatees and their problems because of us.
"We offer a very valuable aspect to the manatee program."