Manatee and kid

CMGW Photography snapped this beautiful shot, "First Contact," in which a young girl and a manatee share a moment through a pane of glass.

First Contact

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

MORE: Delightful Creatures • Kids • photos • wide

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h4x0r

Awesome.
fuzzyfuzzyfungus

The Mighty Jabba will now listen to your pleas…
BarBarSeven

“Where do you desire passage to young one?”
http://profile.yahoo.com/5KDXOSBEPPO3YLPUEEF7FOIHGU talby0

Finally, a truly suitable image for an “Oh the huge manatee!” macro.
skunky

Oh, the huge manatee.
- zarray
  
  Damn you you sniped my line.
Antinous / Moderator

Why is that manatee twice as big around as any other manatee?
- fuzzyfuzzyfungus
  
  It’s the queen manatee. The engorged abdomen holds thousands of larvae.
- BarBarSeven
  
  Because it’s the 3rd night of Passover, goy.
- cdh1971
  
  Yo Mama…
- awjt
  
  Because that’s not really glass.
reglisse

“We foresee a slight problem within House Atreides…”
- soodonim
  
  Something… unexpected.
- alaskanime
  
  “We have just folded space from Ix…Many machines on Ix. New machines.”
Labbit

I remember this scene from Evangelion!
Frank Diekman

Sounds like a buddy detective show: “Manatee and the Kid”
- Felton / Moderator
  
  “They’re a crime-fighting duo, do do do do do, oh yeah…”
ocker3

I’m not always a huge fan of Zoos, but as a way to introduce citydwellers to the wonders of nature a well-run Zoo can be a good start
- OgilvyTheAstronomer
  
  If you mean “introduce city dwellers to wild animals slowly going insane in captivity”, I certainly agree.
  - SuperWittySmitty
    
    Oh please. Many animals adapt to their enclosed environments just fine, just as I’ve adapted to living in an apartment building in a very crowded urban society. We do not live in a Garden of Eden- animals in zoos are well-cared for, fed, and generally receive protection from the harsh realities of living in nature. Sure, there are problems, and not all animals adapt well, but zoos are usually striving to provide the best arrangements possible. I love bears and wolves and lions, too, but I prefer that they do not wander around in my world, naturally. I prefer them controlled, nurtured, and satiated.
    - OgilvyTheAstronomer
      
      The difference is that living in an apartment in a crowded city was your choice. I have no problem with captive breeding programs for animals at a clear risk of extinction, and I accept there may be animals that probably aren’t vertebrate enough to even notice their environment beyond their immediate sensoria, but to keep elephants or big cats or birds in enclosures is inexcusably fucked up.
snagglepuss

“Hi, sweetie – My name’s Elsie, and I’m here to tell you about Studio Ghibli…..And Gold’s Gym.”
alaskanime

That manatee is fat, even for a manatee.
- zarray
  
  He’s just big boned
  - http://lemoutan.blogspot.com/ Lemoutan
    
    Glands, man, glands.
  - llamaspit
    
    But his face is so pretty.
Ted Johnson

Reminds me of an electron micrograph of a tick.
- http://lemoutan.blogspot.com/ Lemoutan
  
  Yes, but what about the manatee?
  
  [badum-tish]
- Sparg
  
  Reminds me of a less-spiky dust mite.
http://twitter.com/HubrisSonic HubrisSonic

The Mondoshawans never fully trusted the human race…
http://twitter.com/blindeschildpad Blinde Schildpad

And finally, monsieur, a wafer-thin mint.
http://www.ikaink.net Itsumishi

Something quite wrong with the link you’ve provided. This works much better:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cmgw_73/7264003050/
robuluz

I see through you. I see plans within plans.
ImmutableMichael

Call me lame but I have enjoyed every single one of the Dune references thus far.
- Mitchell Glaser
  
  You play a dangerous game.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=592836397 Merrilee Warholak

“A word of advice: Eat healthy and exercise, kid…”
http://www.samuelcousinsphotography.com Sam

“The spice must flow!”
miasm

Ohai!
You look kinda weird.
ferd

“Little Sister, Big Daddy. Big Daddy, Little Sister.”
- Phillip Birmingham
  
  Looks more like a Combine Advisor to me…
Halloween_Jack

That kid better come up with a bucket toot sweet.
Petzl

“I won’t lie to ya, kid: natural selection sucks.”
http://2000ah.blogspot.com/ Edward

That is so cool looking.
http://www.facebook.com/harrisben Ben Harris

“That last kid didn’t fill me up at all”
- Ryan Lenethen
  
  Is it just me, or does it have a really creepy smile going on… I’d swear if I didn’t know these things were vegetarian… Come closer little boffin, the better for me to see you… Om Nom Nom Nom!