Manatee Fact Sheet
Name: West Indian Manatee
Order: Sirenia
Genus: Trichechus
Species: manatus
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A wounded cow and stranded calf receive
care in
the Miami Seaquarium's VIP tank.
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Description:
Manatees have large, seal-like bodies that taper to a flat, paddle-shaped
tail. They have two short forelimbs with three to four nails
on each. Skin is thick and wrinkled with stiff whiskers on the
snout. Nostrils on the upper surface of the snout close tightly
like valves when submerged. Manatees surface to breathe every
few minutes, depending on amount of activity. They can be gray
or gray-brown and an average adult manatee is about 10 feet long
and weighs about 1000 pounds. At birth, manatees are three to
four feet long and weigh between 60 and 70 pounds. They live
long lives -- it is beleived that they can live 60 years or longer.
Behaviour:
Manatees are gentle and slow-moving creatures. Most of their
time is spent eating, resting and traveling. They are often shy
and reclusive. They have no natural enemies, no system of defense
and are completely harmless. Although depth perception may be
limited, they can perceive colors, and, despite having no external
ear lobes, can hear very well. Manatees emit sounds in the human
auditory range and will make sounds, such as squeaks or squeals
when frightened, playing or communicating. Communication between
calf and cow is common: a cow and calf once separated by a flood-control
gate vocalized constantly for 3 hours until reunited.
Habitat:
They can be found in shallow, slow-moving rivers, estuaries, saltwater
bays, canals, and coastal areas, particularly where seagrass beds
flourish. They are completely herbivorous, eating between 10
- 15 % of their body weight, daily. Their diet consists solely
of aquatic plants and studies are currently being conducted to
study how Manatees can help reduce problematic vegetation. Within
the US, they are concentrated in Florida during the winter, but
in the warmer months may venture as far west as Louisiana and
as far north as Virginia and the Carolinas. One famous adventurer,
"Chessie," got his name when he was found and "rescued"
from the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. The next summer he was seen
in Manhattan!
Manatees also live in coastal and inland waters in Central America
and the northern coastal areas of South America.
History:
Manatees are believed to have evolved from a wading, plant-eating
animal, and share a common ancestor with the elephant. They are
related to the West African manatee, Amazonian manatee, dugong,
and Stellar's sea cow (extinct). There are a minimum of 1800
West Indian manatees left in the US, but the Manatee is an endangered
and protected species. The reproductive rate for manatees is
slow, with females reaching sexual maturity between 5 to 9 years
and males not until 9 years old. One calf is born every 2 to
5 years: twins are rare. The gestation period is approximately
13 months. Mothers nurse for long periods and a calf may remain
dependent on the Mother for up to 2 years.
Dangers facing the Manatee:
Natural problems encountered include:
- cold-related illness
- red tide
- disease
Human-related problems are far more common and include:
- watercraft collisions
- loss of habitat
- crushing or drowning in flood gates
- poaching
- ingestion of fish hooks and monofilament line
- entanglement in crab lines
- pollution
- litter
- vandalism
The manatee was officially declared endangered in 1973, as part
of the original species listing in the Federal Endangered Species
Act.
What you can do to help:
- Adopt a manatee: The Save the Manatee Club is devoted to
enhancing the welfare of Florida's manatees. Adopting a manatee
helps them fund critical public awareness campaigns, rescue efforts,
research and activism. Contact them at:
Save the Manatee Club, Inc.
500 N. Maitland Avenue
Maitland, FL 32751
(407) 539-0990
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- Visit the manatees in their winter homes! Manatees move into
the Blue Spring Park in Orange City, FL in late November and stay
through February or early March. Contact the Park at (904) 775-3663
to learn more.
- Don't feed the manatees. Manatees feed on natural aquatic
vegetation and should not eat any other kind of food.
- Be careful when fishing. Monofilament presents special hazards
to Manatees. Line and other debris (hooks, plastic 6-pack holders,
plastic bags, etc.) can be accidentally ingested while manatees
are feeding. Also, manatees are easily entangled when line wraps
around their tails or fins, causing slow and painful amputations
or drowning.
- Contact your state, local and federal representatives to enact
protective legislation and harsher penalties for offenders. The
Save the Manatee Club, Inc. organizes letter-writing campaigns
and other grassroots activities to benefit our manatees.
- Florida residents can buy manatee automobile license plates
to help raise funds for manatee conservation and environmental
education.
- Observe safe boating limits and be on the lookout for manatees.
Manatees are slow-moving and are often unable to avoid collisions.
- Don't harass the manatees. Manatees are shy and may become
frightened by swimmers or divers. Harassment causes them to change
their normal behaviour and may cause them to leave warm waters,
or separate a mother and her calf, or to become overly tired and
susceptible to other dangers.
Read more about Manatees:
Tithonus
Adopt-a-Manatee
Field Trip to the Miami Seaquarium
For club information or comments about this Home Page contact Professor
Fuentes at fuentes@eng.fiu.edu
Updated by 06/09/00
