The Florida sea monster

a reply to: Grimpachi

I believe it is manatees too. Maybe even some kind of whale.

I was born, raised and still live in Florida. I live near the intercoastal waterway (Indian River Lagoon). I have family that live on the barrier islands between the intercoastal and Atlantic ocean.

Manatees are very common here.

We also have all kinds of ocean life that sneaks it's way into the intercoastal waterway from Sebastian Inlet. It is not uncommon to see sharks, dolphin, manta rays etc in our brackish water bodies.

a reply to: TorqueyThePig

I used to surf Sebastion all the time I have had a lot of fun in that area sometimes groups of us would camp at the park three to four days when there were good waves but we would fish the inlet as well so yeah I have seen a lot of wildlife there.

I lived up in Satilite Beach for several years so Surfing grounds were from the port on down and about twice a year we would go up to Saint Augustine to do the same usually following the backside of hurricanes. Like I said I have seen a manatee come up by us out surfing not very often though. I am not sure if they get pushed out by the tides in conjunction with rains or if that has always been natural for them. Like I said I would bet everything I own on it being a manatee and dedicate the time to prove it. Afterwords I would get back into surfing with the extra cash to be a beach bum.

The biggest thrill/scare/shock what have ya was surfing Cocoa Beach Pier when a pod of whales came in close all around us. I still couldn't tell you what their proper names were, but they were huge. Dolphins would be tiny in comparison.


Man now I want to take a few days to go surf. I need to check the surf report.

a reply to: JustACoincidence

It's a manatee, poor animals get hit all the time.

a reply to: JustACoincidence

This looks like a pectoral fin that got hit

So, now can you show what kind of boat that has a prop made the horizontal cut without doing some serious if not fatal injuries to this animal.

Now I am not saying this couldn't have been a pectoral fin, but I have never seen a pectoral fin that was cut like that by a boat prop.

I have seen manatee tales that look like that... Up close and personal I might add.

a reply to: Grimpachi

The biggest thrill/scare/shock what have ya was surfing Cocoa Beach Pier when a pod of whales came in close all around us.

That's always a thrill when you get the up close and personal visit while surfing. I miss those days...

a reply to: Grimpachi

I live in Brevard County and frequent all the places you mention.

a reply to: Grimpachi

Quite honestly I am for the death penalty for that. Sickening.

Yeah I think you guys are right, most of the footage does look like a manatees. They’re most likely mating with each other too.

There are still some scenes that look really strange. Gene Sowerwine spent days filming in that location. Too bad we can’t see the unedited version.

Have you guys seen a manatee that glided across the water with its head up like at 0:53?

That other video where those people got really scared is still intriguing

a reply to: Grimpachi

You’re a lot braver than I am! I would never get in that murky water knowing there could be sharks around.

originally posted by: tsurfer2000h
a reply to: JustACoincidence

This looks like a pectoral fin that got hit

So, now can you show what kind of boat that has a prop made the horizontal cut without doing some serious if not fatal injuries to this animal.

Now I am not saying this couldn't have been a pectoral fin, but I have never seen a pectoral fin that was cut like that by a boat prop.

I have seen manatee tales that look like that... Up close and personal I might add.

I have to agree with you there, just saw a video of manatees mating and one had a tail that looked and moved exactly the same.

a reply to: JustACoincidence

Sharks are always in the water with people you just don't see them unless you are up in a plane or copter. Do a search on Sebastian Inlet/sharks. That is my favorite place to surf. Most attacks are from mistaken identity like the bottom of your foot being white or because someone wore a piece of jewelry. Bull sharks are about the only common aggressive shark around here, but once in a while someone catches a tiger at the port though I have never seen one in person.

To be honest I am more afraid of barracuda. A big one can take your arm or leg off in a flash it happened to a woman at the port some years back while she was scraping the barnacles off her boat.

I have seen nearly all of these videos as well as the documentary. There was a split between the wildlife officials interviewed for the documentary. I don't remember the names, but the woman said 100% manatee, but the guy professor pointed out various non-manatee features (primarily the head/muzzle) and felt it was not a manatee. I tend to agree.

Having seen many manatees myself, I instantly thought it didn't look right. The head looks much more like a pinniped similar to a leopard seal in shape. It honestly doesn't look like a manatee muzzle at all. Even though there are none native to FL, lots of things travel the world on the seas and have been found where they don't belong. I really think this is just something that doesn't belong rather than a manatee or 'sea monster'. There have also been seal species thought extinct for decades only to turn up again. It wouldn't be impossible to just be a 'rare bird' as it were.

Leopard seal head for comparison

They are massive 10-12'

Not saying it is a leopard seal, just that it is much more pinniped looking than manatee, and if it had been filmed elsewhere, people would be pointing that direction instead of manatee. Large unknown pinniped imo.

a reply to: Halfswede

I'm with you on this one. A manatee doesn't sound quite right, and your explanation is definitely very plausible.

a reply to: JustACoincidence It's a Manatee!!

originally posted by: JustACoincidence
Yeah I think you guys are right, most of the footage does look like a manatees. They’re most likely mating with each other too.

There are still some scenes that look really strange. Gene Sowerwine spent days filming in that location. Too bad we can’t see the unedited version.

Have you guys seen a manatee that glided across the water with its head up like at 0:53?

That other video where those people got really scared is still intriguing

I liked that clip near the middle of this video. It looked much narrower than a manatee, different shaped head. I'm not a manatee expert in the least but this one looks different from the rest, aside from the serpentine creature that scared the people in the boat.