The Pinellas Sheriff’s Office shared a warning on June 15 after receiving numerous calls about groups of manatees gathering together

By Kelli Bender Published on June 18, 2025 07:30PM EDT

If you see the manatees rocking through the waves, don’t come knocking on the Pinellas Sheriff’s Office’s door.

The Florida sheriff’s office shared an unusual warning about the animals on Instagram on June 15. The post includes a video showing a clump of manatees closely gathered together on the shore of a Florida beach. At least 10 manatees swim over and near each other in the footage.

According to the post, this type of bizarre-looking manatee gathering is common in the summer, and no cause for alarm. The marine mammals are getting together for an NSFW reason, per the Pinellas Sheriff’s Office.

“If you see this … no, you didn’t,” the sheriff’s office wrote on the manatee video. “Don’t call us. They are more than fine. It’s mating season.”

Pinellas Sheriff’s Office provided more context in the caption alongside the manatee footage.

“We get calls all the time from citizens when they see this, believing the manatees are in distress. We can assure you they are more than fine,” the agency wrote, adding, “Manatees actually mate in herds like these, and often they are near the shore. They mate all throughout the year, but generally, mating herds like these are seen in the summer months.”

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