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Dancing with Manatees 与海牛共舞Once I swam in clear water in a wide river. I held my breath and lookedown. Swimming underwater, I could see through my mask – white sandbelow me, weeds swaying, a tin can gleaming, little fish darting, and myfriend Woody swimming in his dark rubber suit. I came up breathe.Woody popped up near me. He took off his mask. Did you find one? Iasked. By the raft. Alice is taking a nap. I swam toward the raft. Finsmade swimming easy. I dove down into the water and there was Alice – a great, gray creaturewith a sof, round, rubbery look, resting quietly on the sandy bottom. Hercace was round and wrinkled. Her front flippers were like short, bluntarms. Her tail was like a Ping-Pong paddle. She looked like a huge toyballoon. She was a manatee, an animal that lives in waster and breathesair.Woody had named her Alice. While I watched, she opened a small eye.She turned her head and looked at me. Her flippers waved gently. Sheopened her mouth. Silver bubbles popped out. Alice had burped.I swam up to the sunny surface to breathe. Woody was on the raft. I satbeside him, and we talked about manatees. Woody is a biologist. He wasstudying the manatees that visit rivers and bays along the coast of Florida.Once there were thousands of Florida manatees. Now there are only a fewhundred. By studying them, Woody hopes we can find ways to help themsurvive. Here are some things he told me. Manatees live in water all their lives. Long ago – millions of years ago –their ancestors lived on land and ate grass. Little by little, they began togo into the water, perhaps to find food there or to escape enemies byswimming. In the water, they didnt need legs and feet. Their front legsevolved into flippers. Manatees still have toenails where front towes usedto be. Their hind legs evolved into a paddle-shaped tail.The shape of their bodies also changed. It became smooth and tapered toslide easily through the water, and padded with fat to keep them warm.Their outer ears disa