TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – The Tampa Electric Manatee Viewing Center will reopen for the season on Nov. 1, it was announced Thursday.
When the water temperature of Tampa Bay is 68 degrees or cooler, manatees gather in the clean, warm water discharge canal of the electric company’s Big Bend Power Station. The number of manatees can reach the hundreds at consistently colder points of the season.
Visitors can see the mammals up close from boardwalks. Guests can also meet stingrays at a touch tank at the center. There is also a nature trial that can be hiked, and visitors can take in the view from a 50-foot tall observation tower.
Admission to the center is free. Regular hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day from Nov. 1 through April 16, except Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. The facility closes at 3 p.m. Christmas Eve.
Partners at the Manatee Viewing Center include The Florida Aquarium and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
