Facts about Manatee
A manatee tail is paddle-shaped, while a dugong tail is forked, similar in shape to a whale's.
Florida manatees (T. m. latirostris) have been known to live up to 60 years.
Half a manatee's day is spent sleeping in the water, surfacing for air regularly at intervals no greater than 20 minutes.
Manatees were also hunted for their valuable bones, which were used to make "special potions."
On average, most manatees swim at about 5 to 8 kilometers per hour (1.4 to 2.2 meters/second or 3 to 5 miles per hour).
The primary method of hunting the manatee was somewhat crude, as the hunter would use dugout canoes to approach targeted manatees.
Only a single calf is born at a time and aside from mothers with their young or males following a receptive female, manatees are generally solitary creatures (Best 1984).
Manatees spend most of their time grazing in shallow waters and at depths of 1 to 2 meters (3-7 feet).
Manatees emit a wide range of sounds used in communication, especially between cows and their calves, yet also between adults to maintain contact and during sexual and play behaviors.
Manatee counts are highly variable without an accurate way to estimate numbers.
Manatees are found in both freshwater and marine environments in parts of the Americas and Africa.
Manatees typically breed only once every other year, since gestation lasts about 12 months, and it takes a further 12 to 18 months to wean the calf.
The West Indian manatee migrates into Florida rivers such as the Crystal River, the Homosassa River, and the Chassahowitzka River.
Adult manatees have no incisor or canine teeth, just a set of cheek teeth, which are not clearly differentiated into molars and premolars.
When Christopher Columbus arrived in the region, manatee hunting was an established trade.
On some manatees off the Florida coast, a large portion of manatees exhibit scars on their backs and they are now even classed by humans from their scar patterns.
The African manatee (T. senegalensis) is the least studied of the three species of manatees.
Up until the 1800s, museums paid as much as $100 for manatee bones or hides.
The main water treatment plant in Guyana has four manatees that keep storage canals clear of weeds.
Manatees are slow-moving, non-aggressive, and generally curious creatures.
The indigenous hunter would then use various methods of baiting in order to attract a manatee close enough to hit the animal near the head with an oar-like pole, temporarily stunning the manatee.
Florida is usually the northernmost range of the West Indian manatee as their low metabolic rate makes cold weather endurance difficult.
The upper lips of manatees are split and described as prehensile (Odell 2004).
The Brazilian government has outlawed the hunting of the manatee since 1973 in an effort to preserve the species.
The main visual difference between manatees and dugongs are the tails.
Manatees occasionally ingest fishing gear (hooks, metal weights, and so on) while feeding.
Much of the knowledge about extant manatees is based upon research done in Florida and cannot necessarily be attributed to all types of manatees.
Native Americans hunted manatees to make war shields, canoes, and shoes, though the manatee was predominantly hunted for its abundant meat.
Manatees, which sometimes are known as sea cows, are part of the order Sirenia along with dugongs.
Sometimes manatees can live through collisions with boats, but have severe injuries.
The Amazonian manatee (T. inunguis) is a species of manatee that lives in the freshwater habitats of the Amazon River and its tributaries.
Studies in Florida suggest that Florida manatees must have some access to fresh water for proper osmoregulation.
Fish and Wildlife Service is trying to find a new way to heat the water for these manatees.
Manatees were commonly hunted for their meat by natives of the Caribbean, although this is much less common today (Nunez 2008).
Fossil remains of manatee ancestors show they have inhabited Florida for about 45 million years.
Manatees are herbivores and eat over 60 different plant species such as mangrove leaves, turtle grass, and types of algae, using their divided upper lip.
The population of manatees in Florida (T. manatus) is thought to be between 1,000 and 3,000, yet population estimates are very difficult.
On June 8, 2006, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission voted to reclassify the manatee on Florida's list, to a "threatened" status in that state (FWC 2008).
Like horses, manatees have a simple stomach, but a large cecum, in which they can digest tough plant matter.
Accurate population estimates of the Florida manatee are notoriously difficult and have been called scientifically weak.
Manatees are capable of understanding discrimination tasks, and show signs of complex associated learning and advanced long term memory (Gerstein 1994).
Manatees typically inhabit warm, shallow, coastal estuarine waters and cannot survive below 15°C (288 K; 60°F).
Manatees are also vulnerable to red tides—blooms of algae, which leach oxygen from the water.
The current main threat to manatees in the United States is being struck with boats or slashed with propellers.
An adult manatee will commonly eat up to nine percent of its body weight (approx 50 kilograms) per day.
Photosynthesis begins when light is absorbed by chlorophyll and accessory pigments.
During the winter months, November to March, approximately 400 West Indian manatees (according to the National Wildlife Refuge) congregate in the rivers in Citrus County, Florida.
The number of manatee deaths in Florida caused by humans has been increasing through the years, and now typically accounts for 20 percent-40 percent of recorded manatee deaths (FWRI 2008).
Manatees have been known to eat small amounts of fish from nets (Powell 1978).
Manatees can also be crushed in water control structures (navigation locks, floodgates, among others), drown in pipes and culverts, and are occasionally killed from entanglement in fishing gear, primarily crab pot float lines.
Manatees typically inhabit warm, shallow, coastal estuarine waters and cannot survive below 15°C (288 K; 60°F).
Manatees are herbivores and eat over 60 different freshwater ( e.g. floating hyacinth, pickerel weed, alligator weed, water lettuce, hydrilla, water celery, musk grass, mangrove leaves) and saltwater plants (e.g. sea grasses, shoal grass, manatee grass, turtle grass, widgeon grass, sea clover, and marine algae).
Well, you can do the same with manatee meat. Manatee meat was a delicacy because it was the only source of meat on the island at a time when fish was eaten three times a day. So you can imagine what a treat manatee meat was. ... Some people never used to eat the manatee because they said it had human flesh.
Two hands are illegal. The Endangered Species Act forbids touching a manatee unless it touches you first, and they will let you know.” The rules are strict in Homosassa, and the protection of this endangered species is taken very seriously. There is absolutely no chasing, riding or harassing the manatees.Apr 25, 2017