Meet Brutus:
One big dude with an independent streak
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| Brutus is the largest male manatee ever recorded at Blue Spring State Park. (Photo © Walker Stanberry/SMC) |
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Once you see Brutus, you aren't likely to forget him. He is what you would call "one big dude," topping out at about 1,875 pounds the last time he was weighed. One of the Blue Spring regulars and the largest recorded male manatee at Blue Spring, Brutus has been a winter visitor to the park since 1970, when he was first identified.
During the winter season, Brutus regularly puts in a number of appearances at Blue Spring. But he is sometimes late for the season, and he is notorious for missing morning roll call. Wayne Hartley, who does the morning roll calls at Blue Spring, seems to think this behavior is payback from Brutus for Wayne’s intrusion upon his morning rest.
One of the ways Wayne is able to ID Brutus when he visits Blue Spring is by the long white scar on his back, among several smaller scars. Most adult manatees in Florida waters have scars from collisions with boats, and Brutus is no exception. Researchers, like Wayne, create what’s called a “scar pattern chart” and use it to identify individual manatees.
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| Researchers identify Brutus by his scar patterns. (Photos courtesy USGS Sirenia Project) |
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An independent guy, Brutus is often found snoozing by himself on the east side of the spring run, while all the other manatees sleep on the west side. But when he is awake, Brutus is pretty social, often traveling in the company of other manatees. When he arrives for the winter and departs for the spring, he is usually one of the crowd.
One year, Wayne was down in the swimming area when he witnessed an event that gave him a chuckle. A female manatee, appropriately named "Sweetie," swam by followed by 12 males. Leading the pack of males was Brutus and other Blue Spring old timers Howie, Doc, Paddy Doyle, Merlin, and Doug. Next came the young men: Eustis, Kevin, David, Sailor, and Phud. Finally, bringing up the rear was Bart, a youngster who had only been visiting the park for a couple of years. "All I did was keep my hands in and watch them go around me," said Wayne. "They were too intent on Sweetie to be bothered by me!"
In the last few years, Brutus has once again been asserting his independence by spending some of his winter season at Silver Glen, a spring off Lake George, which is a few miles north of Blue Spring. He has been seen there keeping company with his buddy Merlin, who has apparently decided to winter at Silver Glen for the time being. Luckily, Wayne receives information from other manatee biologists in the area, so he knows what the two old boys are up to.
Brutus did make an appearance at Blue Spring this season. He was late last season but showed up at the beginning of December this year. He has made several January trips to Blue Spring, which isn’t bad, considering the warm weather in Florida and his new penchant for Silver Glen. But then, Brutus made it through the chilly winters and the record cold river temperatures of the previous two seasons, so we are happy to see him whenever he decides to visit!
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An independent guy, Brutus is often found snoozing by himself on the east side of the spring run, while all the other manatees sleep on the west side. But when he is awake, Brutus is pretty social! (Photos © Walker Stanberry/SMC) |
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