We’ve seen our fair share of shark-angler encounters and whale-angler encounters, but far more rare are the videos posted of a manatee giving a kayak angler a scare. But this is exactly what happened to tournament kayaker Matt Lanier as he was preparing his bait for a cast, when the Floridian mermaid rose alongside his kayak.
Lanier looks to the side and sees the massive marine mammal along his boat. Unsure what it is at first, Lanier reacts as most of us would, with a jump scare. The manatee then smashes its tail on the surface, soaking Lanier.
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From the looks of the comment section, this is far from the first time an angler has been surprised by the actions of a manatee. One commenter mentions an incident when a manatee was under their kayak and proceeded to flip the boat, tossing them four feet in the air. Another notes a time a peaceful manatee turned into a “wild bucking Brahma bull.”
Lanier’s jump scare is a fun watch, but also a reminder that for as peaceful as manatees are known to be they can also be right there with a bison in Yellowstone. Any large mammal as cute as they seem deserves our respect and attention.
