Friday, August 12, 2016

Manatee romance caused traffic congestion

A rare sight literally stopped traffic on the Courtney Campbell Causeway in Tampa Bay, Florida, on Tuesday afternoon.



There was a lot of splashing in the water just yards from the road and it drew dozens of people out of their cars to catch a glimpse of what is called a "manatee mating ball."





People stopped to watch for good reason because it is a very rare sight that you can only see every 3 to 5 years. For a female manatee, deciding between suitors can be difficult.


YouTube link.

There are at least seven male manatees competing for a single female's attention. The male's strategy is to push the female into shallow water in order to mate with her.

1 comment:

Shak said...

People complain about women breastfeeding in public, but take their kids to see animals mating. I'm just pointing out the irony.