ORANGE CITY, Fla. — West Volusia Tourism Advertising Authority has adopted “Gator” the manatee to help support the work of the Save the Manatee Club in Central Florida.
Gator, a frequent visitor to Blue Spring State Park, was identified in 2011 when he was seen on a Save the Manatee Club’s webcam chasing and playing with an alligator, thus earning him his name.
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Record number of manatees counted at Blue Spring State Park Blue Spring State Park staff recently counted a record number of manatees in their waters.
Record number of manatees counted at Blue Spring State Park The park reported 663 at the spring Tuesday, nearly a hundred more than the previous record.
Record number of manatees counted at Blue Spring State Park During manatee season from November through March, manatees are known to seek the park’s warmer spring waters as they depend on warm water to survive.
Record number of manatees counted at Blue Spring State Park Manatees were listed as an endangered species beginning in 1966, but their status was changed to threatened in 2017, the AP reported.
Record number of manatees counted at Blue Spring State Park Manatees depend on warm water for survival.
Record number of manatees counted at Blue Spring State Park According to Blue Spring State Park, the number of manatees visiting them has grown significantly, from about 36 animals when research began in the 1970s to more than 600 today.
Record number of manatees counted at Blue Spring State Park Blue Spring State Park provides underwater and above-water web cameras offering a constant view of manatee activity in the spring.
Record number of manatees counted at Blue Spring State Park More manatees died in Florida in 2021 than ever before.
Record number of manatees counted at Blue Spring State Park Some of the coldest temperatures in a year were reported in Central Florida Tuesday morning, attracting more manatees to the warm springs.
Record number of manatees counted at Blue Spring State Park Blue Spring State Park is an ideal location to release manatees back into the wild after they have been rehabilitated from sickness or injury as they can be easily monitored at the spring and in the surrounding waters.
Gator’s exact birth date is not known, but it’s believed he was among a group of yearling manatees seen at Blue Spring during the 2010-2011 winter season.
For 41 years, Save the Manatee Club has worked to improve the lives of many manatees, assisted in valuable research and protected the habitats that manatees call home for future generations by aiding in the recovery and protection of the manatees and their aquatic ecosystems throughout the world, officials said.
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