TECO manatee viewing center outside Tampa sets visitor record

Tampa Electric says its Manatee Viewing Center in Hillsborough County has set a new record: The center hosted 1,100 manatees at one time, which beats the previous record of 850, set last winter.

"This season has been consistently chilly, which has allowed us to see more manatees at one time than ever before," says Stan Kroh, manager of land and stewardship programs for Tampa Electric, in a Monday press release. "This makes for an even better experience for our visitors."

The manatees have gathered in the canal since the early 1970s, Tampa Electric officials say. When the water temperature of Tampa Bay is 68 degrees or colder, the mammals gather in the clean, warm water discharge canal of Tampa Electric's Big Bend Power Station, sometimes by the hundreds. And now more than 1,000, Tampa Electric officials say.