Manatee Swimming Adventure

Mysterious Manatees
From Publishers Weekly
This labor of love shared by underwater photographer Glaser (coauthor, Alternative Photographic Process) and Reynolds (chairman of the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission and coauthor of The Bottlenose Dolphin) takes readers into the waters of Florida as well as other environs inhabited by manatees, also known as sea cows. These slow-moving creatures exist mostly in spring-fed or brackish waters. Reynolds sympathetically tells the story of the endangered manatee, from its origin to its environment, covering the West Indian manatee, the Antillean manatee (found in Brazil, Mexico and Texas), the Florida manatee, the West African manatee and the Dugong manatee (found mostly around Australia and New Guinea). Reynolds distinguishes each by environ, shape and size, then charts the mammals' rapid decline, mostly due to pollution and boating accidents. From there, he lists organizations that are funding and conducting research and gives compelling reasons to help preserve this rare animal. Glaser's 52 wonderful duotone photos make the book stand out. She snaps images of manatees nuzzling in Crystal River, Florida, or resting mummy-like in murky water. She shows them-many with scars from boat propellers or traps-swimming with tarpon and hiding below the surface of dark waters in Colombia.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Book Description
Mysterious Manatees is a synergistic partnership between photographer Karen Glaser and writer and scholar John Reynolds, two of the nation's leading interpreters--one artistic, one scientific--of the life and underwater habitat of the manatee. This union of science and art makes for a compelling exploration of the manatee through two independent essays--one textual, one visual--in a book addressed to both specialists and a general audience.

To some, an emblem of the tranquility and beauty of natural Florida, to others an obstacle to fast-track growth and good times, the endangered Florida manatee arouses the passions of those who have encountered it and the curiosity of those who have only heard about this huge, enigmatic inhabitant of Florida's coastal waterways.

The book opens with Reynolds's scientific account of the interactions between people and manatees, describing the history of manatee hunting, relating what is known about their early distribution and survival, and clarifying the debate about whether manatees are native to Florida.

Reynolds also discusses manatee biology and the features that make the animal especially vulnerable to human activities. Reynolds's complete and authoritative account of manatee biology, management, and conservation concludes with a gallery of plates featuring Glaser's remarkable panoramic photographs. Glaser’s 52 beautiful duotone prints capture an intimate, distinctively natural vision of manatees in their own environment, an underwater world illuminated only by the sunlight above. The manatees were photographed in all the diverse conditions that comprise their environment: mud, muck, clear water, rain, sunny or cloudy weather--all illuminate the forms of these magnificent animals. Mysterious Manatees will appeal to wildlife professionals, amateur naturalists, environmentalists, and lovers of fine photography as a unique combination of fact and image that provides a compelling sense of the mysterious presence of these large yet gentle and graceful sea creatures.