The manatees love it warm and so they come to spaces where they can warm up when the weather and thus the water gets colder. Although they look so chubby, they can not survive in cold water and therefor they seek the warm outspils of power plants or the springs.  at manatee springs about 100 million gallons of water swells up each day and the water is constantly 68 fahrenheit, even in winter. An awesome boardwalk follows the mangroves to the nearby river suwannee, but the manatees stayed in the midle of  the creek and therefore i couldn´t take pictures. But you can watch manatees here.

In this “zoo” mainly animals are housed, which can not be reintroduced to nature. A bit sad but here some pictures. ©n.g.

We drove the tamiami trails through the big cyprus national park. This sounds very idylic but the tarmac road goes straight through the park without any curves. Because to heap up the road a drench was build besides the street which had filled itself not only with water but nowadays with alligators and water birds as well. Indeed, many boardwalks and sideways makes the park very idylic. © n.g.

Unlike early national parks established to protect majestic scenery, Everglades National Park was established to preserve a portion of the vast Everglades ecosystem as wildlife habitat. The park is home to a vast array of animals that have adapted to a subtropical environment in which temperate climatic conditions, characteristic of latitudes to the north, merge with tropical Caribbean conditions. The winter dry season, which lasts from December to April, is the best time for wildlife viewing in the park. Weather conditions are generally pleasant during the winter and standing water levels are low, causing wildlife to congregate at central water locations. Shark Valley, the Anhinga Trail at Royal Palm, and Eco Pond in the Flamingo area are popular areas for viewing alligators, wading birds, and other wildlife. Boaters have additional access to wildlife viewing opportunities in Florida Bay and along the Gulf Coast. ©  us national park service

p.s.: real animal lovers go there to feed the myriads of mosquitos. © n.g. 

There are headwater streamsin florida which simply gush from the ground. One of them is the “blue spring” which swells about 400 million liters a day (104 million gallons | day) and because the temperature even in wintertimes stays constantly at 21 degrees celcius celsius (70 degrees fahrenheit), many manatees come to this source from november on to avoid the cold water in the rivers. These critters are actually related to the elephants, bob up and down on the water, puffing and are absolutely peaceful. Unfortunately -and equally comprehensible- you are not allowed to swim with the manatees because they are under strong protection.

The vegetation along the river source is overwhelmingly beautiful and this has spread out also to the tourists. Accordingly, the park is often crowded. But during our visit in november we were almost alone. An absolute highlight. © n.g.