WATCH: Mama manatee and her calf spotted in Blue Spring State Park in Orange City

Katie Kustura, Daytona Beach News-Journal
·2 min read

Annie the manatee and her calf, as well as two juvenile sea cows, were spotted recently at Blue Spring State Park on the Save the Manatee Club's above-water webcam.

The group was spotted swimming from the St. Johns River into the spring run, according to a post made Saturday on the nonprofit's Facebook page.

Annie, who was rescued as an orphan calf, was released in the area in 2008, according to the nonprofit.

Encounters with manatees

Blue Spring State Park is an especially popular place to visit during the summer for people wanting to cool off in the spring or canoe or kayak in the St. Johns River.

People who encounter a manatee in the wild should not approach or touch it; manatee harassment is illegal.

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If you're in a canoe or kayak, Save the Manatee Club recommends keeping at least the length of two such vessels between you and the manatee.

The nonprofit recommends that swimmers maintain a distance of at least 20 feet from nearby manatees.

Call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission 24-hour Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922) to report a manatee that may be sick, injured, entangled or orphaned.

People also are encouraged to call the hotline if they see a tagged manatee, a dead manatee or if boaters are speeding in a protected region.

Annie the manatee and her calf, pictured here in an archive photo, were recently spotted swimming from the St. Johns River into the spring run in Blue Spring State Park in Orange City on the Save the Manatee Club's webcam.
Annie the manatee and her calf, pictured here in an archive photo, were recently spotted swimming from the St. Johns River into the spring run in Blue Spring State Park in Orange City on the Save the Manatee Club's webcam.

Interested in 'adopting' Annie or another manatee?

Save the Manatee Club has a program through which people may symbolically adopt a locally known manatee, such as Annie, who is one of more than 20 manatees available for adoption on the nonprofit's website.

Adoptions start at $25 per year and include:

  • Certificate of adoption and biography of manatee;

  • Membership handbook containing manatee facts, viewing locations and guidelines, and other educational information;

  • The Manatee Zone, the nonprofit's official quarterly newsletter.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Mama manatee, calf seen on nonprofit's web cam at Blue Spring State Park