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THE WONDER OF THE MANATEE
Kissing Manatee
Since I can remember, I have been fascinated by the manatee. I can think of nothing more beautiful nor more majestic. The manatee is another of our wild creatures who is in grave danger of being lost forever.
The manatee is a mammal of the order Sirenia. inhabits only tropical and subtropical waters in North and South America and Africa. There are three species of manatee: West Indian, Amazonian. The Florida and Antillean manatee are recognized by scientists as a subspecies. The manatees only living relative is the dugong. A fifth species, Steller's sea cow, was hunted to extinction by 1768.
These mammals are really very large in size with an adult weighing approximately 363 to 544 kg and measuring an average length of approximately 3 metres.
Manatees are herbivores, that is they eat plants. In Florida, they feed on approximately 60 varieties of plants and grasses. From time to time, manatee have been observed drinking fresh water from river mouths, drinking from hoses, culverts and sewage outfalls. It is thought that they do require some fresh water in their diet.
The manatees only teeth are molars, which are used to chew the vegetation that they consume (approximately 4% - 8% of their body weight in wet vegetation daily). The Amazonian is the only fresh water manatee and inhabits the Amazon estuaries, and parts of Paraguay, Peru and Brazil.
The Family
The population of the manatee are very hard to determine for the West Indian and Amazonian, but for the Florida manatee, there are approximately 1900. Really a very small number of this graceful slow mammal left. They are considered and endangered species. There are many things that have helped to hasten their demise. One factor in recent years especially has been the colder winters and the manatee is very susceptible to cold. This year (2001), the manatee were huddling around the warmer waters of the power plants in Florida where they get caught in the upstream current and drown. By far, the power boats and fishing nets are the greatest human enemies of the manatee. They are dark in colour and inhabit shallow waters, especially when it is colder weather. This makes them hard to see and the power boats going too fast, collide with the manatee and either kill or maim them to frequently.
Manatee habitat Map
Blue: Florida manatee
Red: Antillean manatee
Purple: West African manatee
Green: Amazonian manatee
The manatee are greyish-brown. The Amazonian manatee has either a white or pink patch on the belly and chest. Often times you will see a manatee with algae growing on their skin. This is not unusual.
The manatee is very streamlined with a full round middle and a narrowing to a paddle-shaped tail. The female of the species is usually bigger than the male. The female is usually longer. The cow has a calf only once in three years. The young is not weaned until after the first year and is often seen with the mother until into it's second year. The manatee do not mate for life and the female often mates with more than one male in any given season. While they mate year round, the young are born between February and May. Gestation is 12 months.
There are two small pectoral flippers which are used for steering. The flippers are flexible and can be used to bring up food to the manatee's mouth, as well as for guiding movements along a waterway's bottom.
Manatee are considered semi-social, with the main social unit being the cow and her calf. While manatee do congregate, they are not really considered a true herding type mammal.
The manatee have been observed body-surfing and also playing games of follow-the-leader. Manatee enjoying nuzzling and kissing. They are also actually very vocal. They use sound for communicating with their calves from distances as far away as 61 metres.
Manatee are a slow moving animal, who is both non-aggressive and non-territorial. They have live births and the calf is able at birth to swim to the surface of the water. A calf is approximately 2.5 metres in length at birth and 31 kg.
A Swimming Manatee
REMEMBER THE MANATEE IS ENDANGERED AND NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT IN PROTECTING THEM AND THEIR HABITAT
Thank You Linda for this page
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