A young adult manatee comes to the surface for air in a black murky lagoon on the Little Econlockhatchee River at Jay Blanchard Park near Orlando, Florida. To get to Blanchard Park, the 7½- to 8½-foot-long animal had to travel 25 miles from the St. Johns River up the forest-lined Econlockhatchee River and the largely urban Little Econlockhatchee River. Not only do the two rivers twist and turn countless times, some stretches are often too shallow to float even a kayak. For now, the adventurer seems content to hang out less than 10 miles from downtown Orlando, by a YMCA. Surprised state authorities have never seen one of the endangered species there and are considering whether to catch and haul it back to the St. Johns River. Read the entire story here. (Photos by Red Huber, Orlando Sentinel)
Bear moves on from Winter Park museum grounds
The black bear that wandered into the Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens in Winter Park over the weekend has apparently moved on.
Listen to our playlist: Our readers’ favorite Donna Summer songs
Here is our Spotify memorial playlist for the Queen of Disco, Donna Summer, who passed away Thursday at 63. Thank you for your song suggestions, everyone.
Donna Summer performs during a taping of the VH1 special “VH1 Divas 2000: A Tribute to Diana Ross” in New York’s Madison Square Garden in this April 9, 2000, file photograph. Summer died today at age 63 after a battle with cancer, according to multiple news reports. (Photo by Jeff Christensen, Reuters)
CNN photo: George Zimmerman’s great-grandfather was black
A photo aired by CNN shows a black-skinned man that Orlando attorney Mark NeJame says was George Zimmerman’s great-grandfather.
It appears to support what Zimmerman’s family has been saying for months: that Zimmerman has black-skinned relatives and was raised in a mixed race family. Read the story here
Some tips on shooting underwater scenes in the marine habitats at SeaWorld, Disney
The Snap! Orlando photography festival hits full steam on May 10, but there are a couple of warm-up events this week.
Keanu Neal (532) of South Sumter High School and Darious Johnson (161) of East Gadsden High School both collide with a hurdle and go down in the boys 300 meter hurdles event at the Class 2A FHSAA state track and field championships at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida, on Saturday, April 28, 2012. (Joshua C. Cruey, Orlando Sentinel)
See an entire gallery of photos from the state track meet here.
