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They measure up to 4.0 metres (13 ft 1 in) long, weigh as much as 590 kilograms (1,300 lb), [2] and have paddle-like tails. Manatees are herbivores and eat over 60 different freshwater and saltwater plants. Manatees inhabit the shallow, marshy coastal areas and rivers of the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, the Amazon basin, and West Africa.
The Amazonian manatees of Peru have experienced much of their decline due to hunting by human populations for meat, blubber, skin and other materials that can be collected from the manatee. [17] Such hunting is carried out with harpoons, gillnets, and set traps. [17]
Manatees tend to do well in a captive environment and have been known to thrive. [62] However, it can be difficult to replicate the conditions of their natural environment to the extent necessary to maintain a manatee at its healthiest; the typical diet fed to captive manatee populations may contain insufficient quantities of the nutrients they ...
The dugong (/ ˈ d (j) uː ɡ ɒ ŋ /; Dugong dugon) is a marine mammal.It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees.It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest modern relative, Steller's sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas), was hunted to extinction in the 18th century.
When a calf is born, it usually weighs 60–70 lb (27–32 kg) and is 4.0–4.5 ft (1.2–1.4 m) long. Manatees do not form permanent pair bonds, and the male contributes no parental care to the calf, which remains with the mother for up to two years prior to weaning. Female manatees have two axillary mammary glands located under their flippers.
Manatees — sometimes called sea cows — average about 1,200 pounds and 10 feet long. The species plays an important role in helping to maintain sea grass levels but have come under threat ...
Additionally, cetaceans have two areas of high ganglion cell concentration ("best-vision areas"), where other aquatic mammals (e.g. seals, manatees, otters) only have one. [27] Among non-placental mammals, which cannot give birth to fully developed young, [50] some adjustments have been made for an aquatic lifestyle.
At certain times each year, the Niger River dries up due to the hot temperatures and lack of rain. Many manatees migrate there during the rainy season. When the water dries up the manatees are unable to get to other bodies of water. [19] Manatees do not have many true predators. Apart from humans, they are threatened by sharks, crocodiles, and ...