Manatee Mating Grounds
From Monkey Island wiki
The Manatee Mating Grounds are a location somewhere in the Gulf of Melange where giant manatees intuitively come to meet. It is also the resting place of the powerful voodoo sponge La Esponja Grande.
One particular Manatee, after swallowing a ship traveling to the grounds, is unable to find his way; this is because the ship's crew enjoys being there too much and removes one of the Manatee's cochleas (inner ear), disabling its natural sense of direction. Eventually the Manatee would swallow another ship on the same journey, and its captain Guybrush Threepwood would restore the cochlea.
The Mating Grounds are also home to a gigantic female Manatee, many times the size of her male counterpart. She is dubbed as the Leviathan and lives within a large cave at the back of which is La Esponja Grande. Around the cave are the remains of male Manatees who have tried to woo her before. Only with the help of a suave Guybrush is the latest Manatee able to win her over.
After LeChuck returns to power and destroys Spinner Cay, the Vaycaylian Anemone hides in the large cave. De Cava's ship the Howler Monkey is seen resting at the bottom of the ocean, along with a fishing net for some later use. Mr. Winslow has also been stranded on a raft above the grounds with a hypnotised monkey, some rocks, pieces of paper and a pen, and some Old Brute Deodorant that is later needed as one of the ingredients for the Diet of the Senses.
Trivia
- In the PS3 version of "Lair of the Leviathan", when Guybrush successfully gets two Manatees to get close to each other and swims to the cave where the female Manatee once was, the player is automatically rewarded a "La Esponja... Grande?" silver trophy in the "PlayStation Network Trophy Achievements". Also, if he manages to have the manatee swallow De Cava and his crew above the mating grounds, the reward is a gold trophy labeled "Feed the Beast".
