Dear Everyone,

        I just got back from some much-needed R&R at Everglades National Park.
The weather was great, did some bird-watching, spent 4 hours canoeing.  I
am now tanned and rested.  And oh yes!  learned a great deal more about
manatees.

        Living in Florida, there is manatee educational information
everywhere.   It's our favorite endangered species.  But I learned
something new.

        "Manatees are gentle feminine mammals, spending their winters in
the warmer waters of Florida.  In Homosassa Springs, and the Crystal
River, lactating female manatees are often observed nursing not only
other manatee calves, but other adult manatees as well.  It seems that
these gentle herbavores have a strong maternal instinct.  They also kiss
(you can see 3 or 4 manatees "suck face" as they come up to breathe), and
bond closely in their maternal groups."

        It's not likely that those of you coming to Florida this summer
for ILCA will see any manatees in the wild.  By then, the waters are warmer
elsewhere, so they disperse.  If you want to see them, you'll have to
visit Sea World (orlando) or the Miami Seaquarium.

Margie Forrest, in West Palm Beach, FL.