Humpy returns with a suprise....the orphaned baby

I wrote this letter to Fish and Wildlife today. If you aren't familar with Humpy, look at my previous postings.


Dear Ken, I spotted Humpy the manatee with the large lump today in my canal, The Big Cypress at about 5 pm.. The lump is truly much larger, I hope my pics do it justice. It is very dimensional. The good new is that her baby is doing great. Fan the adolescent manatee is still with her. I have heard we have an orphaned baby on the river and I believe Humpy has adopted it. So as usual she had quite a crew with her...2 babies, and the adolescent.
The group was eating, resting and frolicking. What else do manatees do?
I stayed with them for about an hour and a half. Believe it or not, I was extremely quiet and I was able to feel the lump quite a bit. It is hard like a brick! I felt the rest of her skin and the lump felt much harder. I didn't see or feel any ulcerations and I even felt under the lump. I did notice when she comes up she blows alot of water through her nostrils. She has always done this and I always wondered if that was normal. Today I thought about my Park Manatees. I get around 6 inches from their nostrils and there is no moisture when they blow out or else I would get a face full of water. They blow just air. Humpy blows all water.
Once they decided to move on, I observed her swimming. I really don't think she has any buoyency problems.