Manatee lovers are packing into Valentine Park for the 30th annual Manatee Festival and weather conditions could not be crisper for manatee watching in Volusia County.
Rangers at Blue Spring State Park said as many as 133 manatees showed up Sunday morning in search of warmer waters.
Attendance has increased as weather conditions improved from Saturday. Also, conditions at the 72-degree spring are better for viewing the sea cows.
Festival visitors hope they get to the spring in time to watch those sea cows.
"I really love how they're like the big gentle giant,” said Mike McCuen. “They're so huge and they're friendly."
"My biology teacher told us that if we came to the festival, we could get some extra credit to learn about the manatees," said Ashley Lazarski.
On Jan. 11, as many as 414 manatees visited the spring, which is a record.
The Manatee Festival runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Valentine Park on West French Avenue. Buses will be transporting guest to the state park to see the sea cows.