This video was filmed on November 14, 2011 as part of the National Geographic Live! Lecture series at National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Introduction

Brian Skerry is a photojournalist specializing in underwater and marine-related subjects and stories. Since 1998 Skerry has been a contributing photographer for National Geographic magazine, covering a wide range of assignments.

Outline

• Photographing manatees in Crystal River, Florida (start-1:34 min.)

• Manatees as the source of mermaid legends (1:35-1:59 min.)

• Observing manatee behavior (2:00-2:21 min.)

Strategies for Using Video in a Variety of Learning Environments

• Have students preview several of the videos and choose the one they find most inspiring. Have students describe in writing a conversation they might have with the speaker(s).

• Freeze the video on a relevant image. Have students observe details in the still image and jot down predictions of what the full video might address. Discuss students’ ideas before and after watching the video.

• Pose an open-ended question before students watch the video, and have them discuss their ideas before and after in small groups.

• Have students determine what they think the key message of this video is. Was the speaker effective in getting his or her message across?

• Show a short clip to engage students during class, and then have students watch the full video at home and write a paragraph responding to the content or a question you give them.

• Have students note statements that represent facts or opinions, including where it’s difficult to tell the difference. What further research might help distinguish facts and opinions? How might the speaker’s viewpoint compare with others’ viewpoints about a topic?

Transcript (English)

- While working on a story about manatees, a few years ago I was actually in Florida shooting in freshwater rivers and springs like Crystal River that we see here. And this is a place that actually attracts thousands of people every year with kayaks and snorkelers, even some divers, I guess because the manatees come to these freshwater springs in the wintertime 'cause the water is warmer and they need warm water to survive. This is an aerial photo that shows that aggregation of manatees and people. And you know, getting that behavior, the interaction between people and manatees was an important part of the story that I wanted to tell because this is a big ecotourism business and these animals have learned to adapt to humans. But my most special experiences as often is the case, happened late in the day when everyone else had left and I was just alone with the manatees. I found that they would often swim down these narrow channels into these sort of primordial springs and I would sort of drift down there behind them and be very patient and wait until they allowed me into their world. You know, photographically, I was shooting at very, very high speeds. This is right around sunset, so there's very little ambient light. I'm shooting at maybe 1600 or 2000 ISO. But being able to do that with digital cameras today allows you to see much more of the habitat instead of just the animal. Incidentally, as you may know, manatees were the animals that were told, inspired mermaid legends and early explorers that came over to the new world, like Columbus wrote in their log books about seeing mermaids. It's hard to believe that they ever mistaken that face for that of a mermaid, but evidently those boys had been on the boat a little too long. But nonetheless, these experiences for me were very special. You know, being alone out there is a chance to see interesting social interactions and behaviors. Things I hadn't necessarily read about, like this little social gathering, I'd read that manatees aren't typically all that social, but yet here I could see this kind of thing happening and, you know, getting a brief glimpse into a otherwise mysterious world.

Transcripción (Español)

- ¡National Geographic en vivo! El mito de la sirena

- Mientras trabajaba en una historia sobre manatíes, hace unos años estuve en Florida tomando fotos en ríos y manantiales de agua dulce como Crystal River que vemos aquí. Y este es un lugar que realmente atrae a miles de personas cada año con kayaks y esnórqueles, incluso algunos buzos, creo que porque vienen los manatíes a estos manantiales de agua dulce en invierno porque el agua está más caliente y necesitan agua tibia para sobrevivir. Esta es una foto aérea que muestra esa agregación de manatíes y personas. Y tener ese comportamiento, la interacción entre personas y manatíes fue una parte importante de la historia que quería contar porque esto es un gran negocio del ecoturismo y estos animales aprendieron a adaptarse a los humanos. Pero mi experiencia más especial como suele ser el caso, sucedió tarde en el día cuando todos los demás se fueron y yo estaba solo con los manatíes. Descubrí que a menudo nadaban en canales estrechos hacia unos manantiales primordiales, yo me quedaba flotando detrás de ellos y tenía que esperar y tener paciencia hasta que me permitían entrar en su mundo. Fotográficamente, estaba fotografiando a velocidades muy, muy altas. Esto fue justo al atardecer, por lo que hay muy poca luz ambiental. Estaba fotografiando quizás a 1600 o 2000 ISO. Pero poder hacer eso con las cámaras digitales hoy te permite ver mucho más del hábitat en lugar de solo el animal. Por cierto, los manatíes eran los animales que se dice, inspiraron las leyendas de las sirenas y los primeros exploradores que llegaron al nuevo mundo, como escribió Colón en sus bitácoras sobre ver sirenas. Es difícil creer que alguna vez confundieron esa cara con la de una sirena, pero claramente esos chicos estuvieron demasiado tiempo en el barco. Pero aun así, estas experiencias para mí fueron muy especiales. Estar solo ahí fuera es una posibilidad para ver interacciones y conductas sociales interesantes. Cosas sobre las que no necesariamente había leído, como esta pequeña reunión social, leí que los manatíes no suelen ser tan sociables, pero aún así aquí pude ver este tipo de reunión sucediendo y pude echar un breve vistazo a un mundo que de otro modo sería misterioso. Derechos de autor © 2012 Sociedad National Geographic Todos los derechos reservados ¡National Geographic en vivo!