Students swim with manatees

Whether it’s sea cows or gentle giants, manatees are known by many names and this weekend some students from Georgia College got to know them a bit better.

Venture Out sponsored the trip to Crystal River, Fla. to swim with the manatees. The program goes along with the organization’s purpose to help students have new experiences while meeting new people.

Kate Sharp, the activities coordinator for Venture Out, organized this trip even though she did not get to attend.

Submitted by Jennifer Clinton

Venture Out traveled to Crystal River, Fla. for the chance to swim with manatees.

Sarah Canatsey, marketing and fundraising assistant for the Outdoor Education Program, led the trip this year.

They left on Feb. 11, and camped in a near by forest called Chassahowitzka state park.

“For some of the kids it was the first time they had ever camped,” Canatsay said.

Canatsay explained that there are different kinds of camping and the type they did was called car camping.

“You can take a lot more stuff with you because you don’t have to hike to get to the campsite,” Canatsay said.

Canatsay swam with these docile beasts of the sea before, but many of the others had never even gone scuba diving. The company they took the tour through helped Venture Out provide all the gear necessary.

“The water was cold, but they had wet suits,” Canatsay said. “The manatees were so playful and they would nudge the students.”

Students swam in the manatee’s natural habitat, which means they had to get up early to catch the sea cows before they went out into the bay where they feed.

Unfortunately the group had to miss out on another near by attraction, swimming with mermaids.

“There’s an fun park close by that has this show where women who can hold their breath for a long time put mermaid tails on and swim around,” Canatsay said.

Melissa Johnson, freshman biology major, attended the trip this year and told Canatsay about her experience after they got back.

“This trip was so awesome.  The instructors were very knowledgeable and taught me how to camp- set up the tent, cook outside- and were very understanding.  Swimming with manatees was an amazing experience and I am glad I could go with Venture Out,” Johnson said.

Another student who attended was freshman Physics Tanner Mortensen. He enjoyed his time in Florida.

“The only suggestion I would make is pushing back the trip so it would be warmer,” said Mortensen.

Manatees are an endangered species and the Venture Out group respected that by not following them into their “sanctuary area” where humans are not allowed.

Good news for the manatees is that their numbers have been increasing according to a study done by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Comission. In 2009 the Los Angeles Times reported that there were about 3,807 manatees in Florida, which exceeded the number of 500 reported eight years ago.

Posted by Danielle Paluga on Feb 17 2011. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.