Photos by carltonward | Recently I had the privilege of swimming with wild manatees in Crystal River, Florida. My team and I were gathering underwater video for a project known as the Florida Wildlife Corridor. One afternoon, as I swam from the boat over a deeper spring head, I was greeted by a curious baby manatee. It swam straight at me, checked me out for a bit, then returned to the shallows where it had been entertaining a group of tourists who floated respectfully at the surface. After dazzling tourists, the baby manatee swam back to deeper water and found its mother to top off on milk. It was an afternoon swim I will not forget! To learn more, please follow carltonward and pathofthepanther. The Path of the Panther project is supported by the National Geographic Society, working to inspire the protection of the Florida Wildlife Corridor. insideNatGeo #KeepFLWild