Manatee Lodge has transitioned over the years to become a choice destination for naturalists, birders and anyone interested in the wealth of natural history accessible in and around the Southern Lagoon area. The surrounding islands, mangroves, creeks, savannas and jungle provide homes for a huge variety of birds, plant life, and mammals including manatees and jaguars. The Southern Lagoon is bound on the west by the foothills of the Maya Mountains. These unusually shaped limestone formations jut from the savanna grasslands and are thickly covered with dense jungle growth. Found within these structures are caves, many containing remnants of the ancient Mayan civilization.
Thick mangroves separate the Lagoon from the Caribbean Sea to the east.
These tangled mangrove forests provide a rich nursery and feeding grounds not only for sport fish but also for lobster, crabs and a multitude of other marine life, as well as nesting places for the many water birds in this area - white ibis, egrets, herons, and ospreys. The Lagoon waters still abound with game and table fish - tarpon, snook, jacks, snapper, mullet, sheephead, and many more. Fishing on your own or with one of our experienced local guides can make this a great adventure. Abundant sea grass beds along the lagoon bottom support a large local population of Manatees. The bellowing of rival bulls can be heard over the waters during mating season.