Risking our lives for manatee farts

We warned you; this won't always be a highbrow blog.  Today, we're following up on that threat.  But can you really resist manatee farts?  

This has been a seriously wet week in Brunswick.  Like clockwork, at 3:30, we're deluged.  We've been hiding below but the dog's bladder doesn't really care about the weather.  As soon as the rain lightens up a bit, it's time for a walk.  Usually we get it done and get back to the safety of the boat, but yesterday we found a reason to stay out in the thunder and lightning -- manatees.  Not one but two manatees, and we were thrilled to get a chance to see them grazing along the high tide line.  It's not something you see everyday!

Manatees are well-known for their preference for sea grass.  That's all well and good in Florida, where sea grass is abundant (at least until recently).  Here in Georgia, there's not a blade of sea grass to be found.  Coastal waters here are much too turbid, preventing the sun from reaching the sea floor.  Yet we've seen manatees here during the warm months, begging the question -- just what are they eating?  

At least some of their diet comes from terrestrial plants.  Yesterday's tide was particularly high, due to the approaching full moon.  These manatees were taking advantage of the high tide to enjoy plants along the water's edge:

You were promised manatee farts, and we're here to deliver.  In case you aren't in on the secret, manatees are gassy.  Like, really gassy.  When you see a picture of a manatee, look in the background.  Are there bubbles?  Those are manatee farts.  Why are they so gassy?  Manatees and their close relatives, the dugongs, are the only marine mammals that are herbivores. To extract enough energy from plants, they need to have a serious digestive system.  They have incredibly long intestines -- up to 150 feet long.  Much of their body cavity is filled with these intestines, and they've got some serious fermentation going on in there.  Bacteria in their intestines break down the tough, difficult-to-digest plant material into simpler carbohydrates, which the manatees can absorb.  Carbon dioxide and methane are byproducts of the bacterial fermentation.  Thus the farts.  But the gas is more than just a byproduct.   Manatees use their gas to regulate their buoyancy as well.  They can compress the gasses in their intestines when they want to submerge, using their gut like a SCUBA diver uses a buoyancy compensator.

Don't tell us we don't know our manatee farts on Fulmar.

Another storm rolling in over the Georgia-Florida line.