APOLLO BEACH, Fla. — As the temperature drops, families gather to watch the sea cows migrate to warmer waters. Regenia Chambliss said it's quite a sight to see.
“Just to see a huge thing come up and blow and you're like you're, ‘Oh my god, Oh my god, there's a manatee,’ It's just amazing to see nature just come up to say hello,” Chambliss said.
Volunteers with the TECO Manatee Viewing Center said hundreds of manatees migrated there.
“Water here is about 86 degrees. I laughed today because people were like, ‘How come they're not coming up?' and I'm like 'They don't want to come up in this cold wind. They like staying in that warm water,'” Connie Isacson with the Manatee Viewing Center said.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said manatees suffer in waters below 68 degrees. It said so far this year, there have been more than 500 manatee deaths in Florida with multiple cases being from chronic cold stress.
Some who don't make it to warmer waters end up at ZooTampa.
The zoo said its critical care center has several manatees suffering from chronic cold stress. As we enter into the colder months, it expects to have more cases.
“Our critical care pool, that's kind of our first stop for manatees. We can raise one of those pool's temps up to about 90 degrees if we need to for manatees that have cold stress syndrome where their body temperature is very low,” Jaime Vaccaro with ZooTampa said.
While at the center, manatees receive supportive care until they're strong enough to go back into the wild.
“Sometimes that takes months,” Vaccaro said.