Manatee Mania

We boarded the WKRG News 5 Wind Creek Chopper headed for Fly Creek in Fairhope...on the lookout for manatees, also called sea cows.
From a thousand feet in the air through the trees, it's easy to spot kayakers paddling their way through brackish waters. Then we spot our first manatee, then another...which led us to a group of about seven of them. They seem to be concentrated within a 200 yard area of Fly Creek.

Manatees are known for their friendly nature, and these seemed to be frolicking a bit with their paddle like flippers. They also have a slow moving, curious nature. In one area, you could see on kayakers approaching them with ease. The manatees don't seem bothered by his invading their space. Photojournalist Brad Gunther even spots a man in the water swimming toward the sea cows. He briefly grabs one by the tail. It just keeps on moving. One of the manatees has been tagged.. dragging a buoy behind it.

Manatees don't have many natural predators. From time to time you may hear of a gator or shark making a move on one, but, lately the greatest concern for these mammals has been the oil in gulf waters. Environmentalists are fighting for these guys, hoping they'll have many more years in our waters.