Didn't sailors develop the idea of mermaids from seeing manatees?

I don't know Simone. That's interesting though. My parents spend every winter in Florida, and right outside the backdoor of their house is the canal that leads to the Gulf. I've spent a lot of time down there over the yrs. and quite often the manatees will come swimming up, and we give them water from the garden hose and pet them. They are such sweet and gentle mammels. Sadly, some people who don't obey the rules, race down the canals, and they hurt the manatees with their propellers, because they can't move fast enough to get out of the way.

One of the last times I was there, right behind the house there was a momma Manatee and her calf. The momma had gotten cut up by a propeller, and was hurt badly, and the baby was just crying really loudly for her momma. (They make a loud squealing sound) We called some sort of Manatee preservation place, and they came with 2 helicopters, and I don't know how the heck they did it, but they hoisted momma and baby out of the water with a large net, and took them both off to their treatment center. It was very cool to watch! :)

(There are also Gators in that canal, and they come out and onto the lawn sometimes too... eeeekkk, lol)