The Wandering Disciple

As the weather gets cooler, animals need to adapt to the changing conditions. Some migrate to warmer climates, some hibernate to sleep it off. The colder waters force manatees to seek warmer waters, pushing them closer to the coast and into waterways with warm water like those around power plants.  This pod of manatees is enjoying the warm waters near the discharge of the TECO power plant in Apollo Beach. Each winter, the canal is filled with hundreds of gentle giants seeking a refuge from the cold waters. Florida Power & Light opened the TECO Manatee Viewing Center, an information center and elevated boardwalk that allows you to view the Manatee up-close.  Taken: February 21, 2015 at TECO Manatee Viewing Center (Apollo Beach, FL)

As the temperatures drop and the Gulf of Mexico begins to cool, manatee begin moving into sheltered waterways in search for warmer waters. Their warm water migration leads them to places like the warm water discharge of the TECO power plant in Apollo Beach. Here in the winter months, you can find manatees by the hundreds frolicking in the warm water. (Photo: February 21, 2015)

A manatee slowly surfaces for air outside the TECO power plant in Apollo Beach.  Every winter, hundreds of manatees, also known as sea cows, migrate to the warm waters to escape the chilly waters of the Gulf of Mexico.  You can get an up close look of these gentle giants at the TECO Manatee Viewing Center at the edge of the canal by the plant. (Photo: February 21, 2015)

A manatee enjoys the warmer waters of the TECO Power Plant in Apollo Beach. Each winter, hundreds of manatees swim to the discharge waters of the power plant providing them with a warm water refuge during the colder months. (Photo: February 21, 2015)

A manatee surfaces for air just outside the TECO power plant in Apollo Beach. When gulf waters cool down, manatees by the hundreds come to the warmer waters of the plants discharge pipes. (Photo: February 21, 2015)

As the waters of the Gulf of Mexico continue to drop, Manatees flock to the warmer waters of the TECO power plant in Apollo Beach.  Manatees gather by the hundreds in the warm water discharge canal of the power plant and can be viewed up-close at the TECO Manatee Viewing Center.  (Photo: February 21, 2015)