Defenders of Wildlife recently visited Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge, which establishes and maintains critical winter habitat for the Florida manatee and protects island habitat necessary for migratory and shorebirds. It is the only National Wildlife Refuge created specifically for the protection of the threatened Florida manatee. To learn more about the Refuge visit: https://www.fws.gov/refuge/crystal-river To learn more about our work on manatees visit: https://defenders.org/wildlife/

Manatee season is here and Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge is ready for our gray friends arrival! 💙 #crystalrivernwr #CrystalRiverNWR | Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge Complex

Here at Crystal River NWR, we are thankful for manatees! Between November and March, manatees come to Three Sisters Springs in search of warmer waters. Did you know the water in the springs is about 72 degrees Fahrenheit year round? This is because the springs provide a steady supply of fresh water from an aquifer. Aqua-what? An aquifer is an underground supply of freshwater that is refilled when it rains as freshwater seeps back into the earth. Freshwater bubbles up through holes in sediment wh