Watch: Never seen before video of rare twin baby manatees

Can there be anything cuter than twin baby manatees? Probably not.

Gene Parker, a Manatee tour guide with Snorkel With Manatees , says that this is the first time he’s seen a mother calf with twins in his 15-year-career. Luckily for us, his once in a lifetime encounter was captured on film. Even more rare are twin baby manatees, as only 2 percent of manatee births result in twins according to  Citrus County, Florida Tourism Bureau officials.

Mama and baby manatees were pictured  swimming at  Citrus County in Florida, one of the few places that allows humans to swim with these endangered, vegetarian creatures. According to National Geographic , the babies are born underwater and each calf must be brought up for a first breath of air to the water’s surface by the mother.

Parker told HuffPost that he still “can’t quite believe” he was able to see the rare little family so up-close and personal. He felt the mother, named CR707, was a “mother trusting us with her motherhood” by bringing her twin calves in such close proximity to his boat.

According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, manatees are a federally endangered species , with only about 6,000 left around Florida.

Enjoy a little mid-week cuteness and watch the video here:

Mom’s manatee with twins. I’ve been doing this for almost 15 years everyday and never seen a new born twins in the wild

Posted by Gene Parker on Saturday, 11 July 2015