Photos by Jason Gulley @jason_gulley_science The millions of gallons of groundwater that gush out of Florida's Homosassa Springs each day maintain a constant temperature of about 74 degrees Fahrenheit (23 degrees Celsius) and create a warm-water refuge for manatees when water temperatures in the nearby Gulf of Mexico plummet. While manatees may look chubby, they have very little body fat and will die from prolonged exposure to water colder than about 68 degrees (20°C). Florida's springs provide natural warm-water habitat that manatees need to survive winter. On cold winter mornings, visitors to the spring inside Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park can expect to see hundreds of manatees gathering to keep warm.