Nestled quietly in 3m-deep water in an urban\u00a0coral reef\u00a0in Florida, an underwater camera is spying on the different animals that pass through this surprisingly bustling ecosystem.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In recent footage, a curious\u00a0manatee<\/a>\u00a0swims right up to the device, even making eye contact with the camera before floating away.<\/p>\n These docile\u00a0‘floaty potatoes’<\/a>\u00a0have paddle-shaped, beaver-like tails and move slowly around the shallow waters munching on sea grass and other vegetation.<\/p>\n \u201cThe most adorable. The most curious. The most magical manatee makes eye contact,\u201d says\u00a0Coral City Camera<\/a>\u00a0while sharing the footage on\u00a0Instagram<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n This manatee boop is the cutest thing you\u2019ll see all day. Credit: Filmed by Coral Morphologic\u2019s Coral City Camera at PortMiami. <\/p>\n Thanks to this underwater camera, people from around the world can sneak a peek into this urban coral reef<\/a>\u00a0in Miami, Florida, to see which ocean visitors have decided to stop by.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe Coral City Camera provides a fish-eye view into the urban marine ecosystem that has developed around the human-made shorelines of Miami,\u201d says\u00a0Coral Morphologic<\/a>\u00a0on the Coral City Camera\u2019s\u00a0website.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe project was launched with the idea that the incredible biodiversity living just below the waterline in Miami should be a point of civic pride that engages the public to protect what they know and love.\u201d<\/p>\n The 24\/7 livestream\u00a0recently broke the record for the world\u2019s\u00a0longest underwater timelapse<\/a>\u00a0when it passed 1,000 days of filming.\u00a0<\/p>\n Although it\u2019s a relaxing way to wind down at home, the footage is also having a real impact on scientific discovery, they say: \u201cWhile the abundance of fish and marine life makes for a real-life aquarium screensaver you can enjoy all day, the Coral City Camera also serves as a valuable scientific tool to monitor the health and wellbeing of this underwater life in a non-invasive fashion.\u201d<\/p>\n More amazing wildlife stories from around the world<\/p>\n