This is the moment a scared manatee almost knocked a woman from her kayak near St Petersburg, Florida earlier this week.<br /><br />According to the filmer, the female kayaker, who was part of a tour group, ignored instructions not to paddle up to the manatees and steered straight into a group of the gentle creatures.<br /><br />One of the animals immediately took fright and panicked, whacking the kayak and almost knocking the tourist into the water.<br /><br />"A perfect example of how not to conduct yourself around manatees," the filmer said.<br /><br />"The best way to have an awesome manatee encounter is to not paddle right up to them and instead keep a respectful distance. If you're patient, one will almost always come up to you to check you out," the filmer added.<br /><br />Manatees are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows.
