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The Florida Manatee
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Sirenia
Family: Trichechidae
Genus: Trichechus
Species: Manatus
Subspecies: Latirostris
Description: Large seal-like body, with two flippers on their upper back (pectoral fins) used for steering and getting food into their mouth, and a paddle-like tail for movement.
Color: Gray, or gray-brown.
Size: Typically 10 feet long with an average weight of 1,000 pounds. Manatees have been known to grow as large as 13 feet long, and weigh up to 3,000 pounds.
Behavior: Absolutely harmless to humans and very shy. Although, some can be quite friendly.
Vision: Near sighted (not very far), but can see colors. Manatees do not have eyelashes. Their eye muscles close in a circular motion, much like an aperture on a camera. They have a lid-like membrane (called a nictitating membrane) that closes over their eyes for protection when they are under water.
Hearing: Even though they have no external ear lobes, they hear very well.
Communication: Makes high pitched squeals and squeaks, which humans can hear.
Breathing: Nostrils on snout, which close while under water. They must surface approximately every five minutes to breathe, but can hold their breath for as long as twenty minutes when resting. The manatee's nose is usually the only
part of its body that comes out of the water when it breathes.
Feeding: Manatees are herbivores, which means they eat plants. They usually spend up to eight hours a day grazing on seagrasses and other aquatic plants. A manatee can consume up to 10 percent of its body weight in aquatic vegetation daily. The manatee uses its muscular lips to tear plants much like an elephant uses its trunk.
Resting: Manatees rest from 2 to 12 hours a day either suspended near the water's surface or lying on the bottom, usually for several hours at a time.
Reproduction: Females normally have one calf every 2 to 5 years.
Habitat: The Florida manatee lives in Florida and southern Georgia. They can be found in shallow bays, rivers, intracoastal water ways, and where there is plenty of sea grass ( their favorite food ). They can live in either salt water or fresh water.
Manatees are protected under the Endangered Species Act. Only about 2,500 are believed to exist in the Florida range. Since they spend much of their time in shallow water, manatees have increasingly fallen victim to injury and death from boats.
Let's all do our share to help
SAVE THE MANTEES !!!
To Report Manatee Deaths, Injuries, Harassment, or Radio-tagged Manatees Please
Call 1-800-DIAL-FMP (1-800-342-5367).
Save the Manatee Club
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