Manatee being fed at Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs, This is Park Ranger Jackie Gordon on the first day that seagrass was fed to manatees at Homosassa Springs, in Florida. Seagrass restoration has been so successful in Crystal River that excess grass is now collected and used to feed the manatees being rehabilitated there. Usually, manatees at rehabilitation centers are fed lettuce but this allows manatees to eat what they would in nature and save the park money at the same time. This is an initiative called the “Seagrass Saves Sea Life” crusade, where Sea & Shoreline will collect the seagrass from the Crystal River project and transport it to the state park weekly to feed captive manatees in the park’s care.