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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.
Manatees are calm herbivores that spend most of their time eating, sleeping, and traveling. They have a lifespan of about 60 years [1] with no known natural enemies. Some of their deaths are the result of human activity. In the past, manatees were exploited for their meat, fat, and hides. [2]
Like the other sirenians, the West Indian manatee has adapted fully to aquatic life, having no hind limbs. Instead of hind limbs, the manatee has a spatula-like paddle for propulsion in the water. Manatees have evolved streamlined bodies which lack external ear flaps, thus decreasing resistance in the aquatic environment.
Female manatees do not attack other manatees or humans that approach their young. Instead, they attempt to keep other manatees and human divers away from their calves by swimming between the ...
Manatees, like all mammal, produce milk for their young, and in their case it’s distributed through glands found in their “armpits” — i.e. beneath their forelimbs.
Manatees enjoy the longstanding reputation of lovable marine animals harmless to all. Except, apparently, to themselves.
Like those of cetaceans, the hind limbs are internal and vestigial. The snout is angled downwards to aid in bottom-feeding. [35] Sirenians typically make two- to three-minute dives, [36] but manatees can hold their breath for up to 15 minutes while resting [34] and dugongs up to six minutes. They may stand on their tails to hold their heads ...
The aquarium strongly discourages human interaction with manatees, but Snooty was too old to be released into the wild, and his handling was the only exception made. It had been discovered that Snooty was able to remember the voices of former keepers and remember training behaviors he learned when only one year old.