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Manatees

A record number of manatees converged at a Florida state park recently.

About Manatees:

  • Manatees are large aquatic mammals, and sometimes they’re referred to as “sea cows.”
  • They belong to a group of animals called Sirenia. This group also contains dugongs.
  • Dugongs and manatees are very similar in appearance and behaviour, but there is one key differencetheir tails.
    • Manatees have paddle-shaped tails, and dugongs have fluked tails, giving it a whale-like appearance.
  • Habitat: Manatees inhabit shallow, marshy coastal areas and rivers.
  • There are three species, or types, of manatee.
    • The Amazonian manatee lives in the Amazon River and in fresh water in South America. This species is only found in freshwater.
    • The African manatee lives in tropical West Africa.
    • The Caribbean manatee is found in Florida and the West Indies.
  • Features:
    • Adult manatees may reach a length of 15 feet (4.6 metres) and a weight of 1,660 kilograms. 
    • Females tend to be larger and heavier than males.
    • Dull grey, blackish, or brown in colour, all three manatee species have stout tapered bodies ending in a flat rounded tailused for forward propulsion
    • The forelimbs are modified into flippers; there are no hind limbs.
    • In order to breathe, they must swim to the water’s surface for air. 
    • Lifespan: 50 to 60 years
    • They are herbivores. They spend up to eight hours a day grazing and can consume 4 to 9 percent of their body weight in aquatic vegetation daily.
    • Apart from mothers and their young, or males following a receptive female, manatees are generally solitary animals.
  • Conservation Status: All three manatee species are listed as ‘Vulnerable’ by the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species.