Senior Moments

by Jessie

The Mighty Manatee

Have you ever seen a Manatee? A Sea Cow? Well Florida Manatees, as amazing as they are, are endangered species. One kind of manatee, the Stellar Sea Cow, is already extinct. Only about 2000 Florida manatees are left around our state. Manatees may only have babies once every five years, so not many babies are born. They have no animal predators, but they are in danger from boats that can run over them in the water. Other dangers to manatees are pollution, cold weather (which can give them the flu), red tide, and running out of food in the winter.

Manatees are now quite rare. Perhaps only 2,500 are left in the USA. In ancient times, sailors mistook them for mermaids on account of their long tails. Today, they often bear scars because of collisions with boats, this is a major hazard for these gentle giants.
They spend most of their time feeding, resting or travelling. They prefer shallow saltwater bays, slow-moving rivers, canals, estuaries and coastal waters. Manatees are quite agile creatures. It uses its flippers and tail to steer itself and moves its tail up and down to propel its body forward through the water. Manatees can swim vertically and upside down; they can also do rolls and perform aquatic somersaults.

Their diet includes manatee grass, turtle grass, various species of algae, mangrove leaves, and water hyacinths. Manatees use their muscular lips to tear plants and guide food to their mouths - not unlike the way an elephant uses its trunk. Manatees normally feed in the water, whether on the surface, off the bottom, or in water columns; but they sometimes haul themselves partially out of the water to eat bankside vegetation, or to crop overhanging branches.

Manatees can grow over 13 feet in length and weigh up to 3,500 pounds. Lengths of 10-12 feet and 1000 -1500 pounds for adults are more typical. In spite of their size, manatees have relatively little fat; they are a sub-tropical species very susceptible to cold. Their eyes are small, but eyesight is good. Manatees have a nictitating membrane which can be drawn across the eyeball for protection. Hearing is good too; manatees have large ear bones.

Manatees have a slow reproductive rate. Twins are rare; when they do occur, one calf is suckled on each nipple, located just behind each of the flippers. More normally, one calf is born every 2-5 years. At birth, the calf is around 3-4 feet long. Guided by the mother, it swims to the surface to breathe. The new-born calf weighs about 60-70 pounds. They may occasionally be disturbed by crocodiles, and suffer from habitat-degradation, but their only significant predator is Man.

Florida Manatees have been known to live up to 60 years, and they can move freely between different salinity extremes; however, Amazonian Manatees never venture out into salt water. They have a large flexible prehensile upper lip that acts in many ways like a shortened trunk, somewhat similar to an elephant's.

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