Destination Dixie Crossroads! A little background for your visit: Manatees, Sea Turtles & Dolphins

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The Space Coast is home to one of the largest populations of West Indian Manatees in the U.S. Nicknamed the "Sea Cow" because of the way it grazes on seagrasses, the manatee is one of nature's gentlest creatures. With a wrinkled snout bristling with whiskers, tiny eyes that glow like shiny buttons and a comical pudgy body, the manatee is reminiscent of a child's plush stuffed animal. No wonder the manatee was chosen as our state marine mammal by the 1975 Florida Legislature.

Manatees are an endangered species. They can be seen year round in the coastal waters, marinas and canals of the Space Coast. Although manatees surface regularly to breathe, they can be hard to spot, mainly because the nostrils are often the only part that sticks above the surface of the water. Look for the manatee's snout, back, tail or a flipper. A swirl or a flat spot on the water signals a manatee may be swimming below. Listen for a soft "whoosh" noise they make when surfacing for air.

The dolphins you see in the Indian River lagoon are Atlantic Bottlenose dolphins. They typically grow to about nine feet long and weigh about 400 pounds. Like other mammals, they breathe air and their young are born alive. Dolphins are sociable animals and usually travel in groups called "pods". They interact with each other and their environment through sound. They send out sounds of various frequencies and use the returning echoes to locate their prey.

Each dolphin can make a unique sound called a signature whistle, which never changes and is used to identify the dolphin for its entire life. They also have an excellent sense of taste. When dolphins open their mouths as they swim, it's usually to pick up the trail of a certain scent. Like dogs, dolphins can find their friends by smelling, or "tasting", them from a distance. Dolphins are fun to watch as they swim, play and train their young. Sometimes they leap totally out of the water as they chase a jumping mullet, and occasionally adults will flip their young into the air as they play.

Some places you might catch a glimpse of a manatee or dolphin in the Titusville area include the Titusville Municipal Marina, Kennedy Point Park, Space View Park, the Titusville causeway and bridge over the Indian River and the Titusville Pier. Manatee and dolphin may also be seen at the manatee viewing platform and Baer's Cove boat launch area at Haulover Canal within the Merritt Island NWR.

The Space Coast could also be called the "Turtle Coast". Our beaches attract the largest population of nesting loggerhead sea turtles in the world. Green and leatherback sea turtles also nest here. The area is so important to sea turtle nesting that the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge was created by congress to preserve this habitat for nesting turtles. Named for Dr. Archie Carr, a world renowned scientist who inspired efforts to save sea turtles, this refuge was established to ensure that these turtles will continue to have a place to lay their eggs.

The nesting process is a natural wonder to behold. In an act repeated over millions of years, female turtles return to the same beach where they were born, crawl up the beach past the high tide line, dig a hole and lay about a hundred eggs. After covering the nest with sand, they crawl back to sea. The whole process takes one to two hours. The mother never sees her babies hatch. The eggs are warmed in the sand nest by the sun and approximately two months later they hatch and begin their short, perilous trip to the sea. Guided tours are available for visitors to observe sea turtles during the nesting season.