Manatee Drifting Through the Freshwater Channel

A big manatee floats in a turquoise channel, its blue-green body speckled with pink and teal spots, a cream belly, a pink snout with whiskers and a purple tail. Yellow trumpet sponges, pink starfish and blue coral grow on its back, and purple tendrils trail from one flipper. Tiny people work on it: one sits by a flag on its head, two tend a boat full of seagrass on its back, and a family shelters in a big shell on its flank. A school of small fish swims along its side. Around it, canoes and rowing boats cross the water, with water lilies, mangrove roots, seagrass, shells and orange reed islands on the banks. The manatee's smooth shape and the busy shoreline are very different in texture, which makes sorting easy.