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It’s one thing to visit an aquarium and gaze in awe at a 1,000-pound manatee swimming just behind the glass. It’s another thing to share the same water with Florida’s sea cows, encountering them in an up-close and personal way.

Such an opportunity is only possible while visiting the aptly-named “ Manatee Capital of the World ,” Crystal River, a charming Gulf Coast city that benefits from a large concentration of freshwater springs.

These are primarily found in Kings Bay and the protected Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge , the only refuge created specifically for the protection of the threatened Florida manatee. The shimmering, azure-blue water coming up from the aquifer helps give sea cows a warm-water refuge during cool winter mont

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