Manatees After our visit to U.S. Customs in Ft. Pierce we took the opportunity to tour the Manatee Observation and Education Centre located there. The Florida manatee is a subspecies of the West Indian manatee. It is found in springs, rivers and shallow coastal waters in Florida and adjacent states. We were delighted to have the good fortune of making a few sightings of these unique, plant-eating mammals during our travels north on the Inter-coastal waterway.