Washburn the Manatee swims same Ocean Routes and Destinations as Kobee Manatee!

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Washburn the manatee swam from Florida up to Massachusetts this past summer. She was then rescued in Cape Cod, Massachusetts and flown to Florida for rehabilitation. Washburn was released in the Atlantic Ocean a few weeks ago and was recently spotted in the Bahamas during early December!

Greetings! Ok – now this is really cool! It looks like I have a true manatee buddy, a solid manatee fan who follows my every move. Why? Because according to both Mystic Aquarium and Sea to Shoe Alliance, Washburn the manatee, who swam from Florida up to Cape Cod, Massachusetts this past summer, was just located in the Bahamas! And what significance does this event have? It just so happens that Washburn is copying my same ocean adventures and destinations!

In my debut book, Kobee Manatee: Heading Home to Florida, I swam from Blue Spring State Park, located in Orange City, Florida, all the way up to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. That’s a twelve hundred mile journey one way! And Washburn the manatee duplicated my journey from Florida to Cape Cod this past summer!

PrintIn my debut book, I swam from Florida all the way up to Cape Cod, Massachusetts in 2013. Washburn the manatee duplicated my same Florida to Massachusetts route in the summer of 2016!

In my second book, Kobee Manatee: A Wild Weather Adventure, I swam from Key West, Florida over to the Bahamas to surprise my sister Kim on her birthday. And guess what Washburn the manatee did this past November? Once she was released from SeaWorld’s rehab unit into the Atlantic Ocean, Washburn swam from Florida over to the Bahamas! I did the same Florida to Bahamas route in 2015! Clearly, I have a solid manatee fan!

Kobee2JacketCoverIn my second book, I swam from Florida over to the Bahamas in 2015 to surprise my sister Kim on her birthday. In the fall of 2016, Washburn the manatee duplicated my same Florida to Bahamas route!

On November 1st, Washburn was released in the wild after her rehabilitation at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida. Then her “travel of about 340 miles southeast of Oak Hill, Florida is as unusual as her being spotted off Cape Cod in August,” experts say.

Monica Ross, a research scientist with Sea to Shore Alliance in Florida said, “As the number of manatees slowly increases, environmental conditions change and public awareness of manatees rises, we have been seeing Florida manatees show up in unusual places like Massachusetts, the Bahamas and Cuba.” On Monday, December 5th, the scientists at Sea to Shore Alliance, who are tracking Washburn’s travels, along with the Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organization confirmed the manatee’s Bahamas location.

Now if we all learn that Washburn is spotted off of Puerto Rico in the coming months, this would be truly amazing and more solid evidence I have a true manatee fan. This is because my third book, Kobee Manatee: Shipwreck Sea Friends, (2017) takes place in that region of the world. Only time will tell!

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In my third book, endorsed by world-renowned oceanographer and conservationist, Fabien Cousteau, I’m swimming in the beautiful, clear waters off of Puerto Rico searching for a historic shipwreck from the 1898 Spanish-American war. Will Washburn the manatee travel to the same Caribbean region in the near future?

If you see any sick or injured manatees, please call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at: 1-888-404-FWCC. They are the folks who are responsible for rescuing us in Florida.

Here’s the Save the Manatee Club link to learn more about us manatees …

www.savethemanatee.org

Here’s a cool link for you to learn more about how we’re rescued and brought into rehabilitation …

www.wildtracks.org

~ Kobee Manatee

Related Posts

Adventurous Florida Manatee Travels up to Cape Cod – Sound Familiar? (September 7, 2016)

Florida Manatee Visiting Cape Cod – Rescued!