The Manatee

The manatee, Trichechus manatus, is a grayish-brown, walrus-like animal weighing on average between 800-1200 pounds and growing approximately 12.7 feet in length. They are mammals, hence they breathe air, have body hair and nurse their young. Manatees have a round, flattened tail, and 2 front flippers. These flippers are used in steering while swimming, as well as for holding their food. While underwater, flaps close over their nostrils, to prevent water from interfering with breathing. The newborn calves range from 3 to 5 feet long, and beginning only several weeks after birth, they start eating plants such as seagrasses and algae. Manatees are completely harmless and nonaggressive and are often shy and reclusive. There are approximately 2,247 manatees remaining in the southeastern U.S. and they are concentrated in Florida year-round. During cold weather, manatees are attracted to the warm-water discharges of five FPL plants. Approximately 1200 animals have been counted with serial surveys at these facilities.
The waters throughout the Caribbean, Central America, Colombia, Venezuela, and the northern coast of Brazil, as well as peninsular Florida, are home to the West Indian Manatee. Two subspecies of the West Indian Manatee exist today. One is found only in Florida and the other is located throughout the northern region of the Caribbean, and the coastal waters of North and South America. In the winter months, cold weather shortens their northernmost range to Florida, while in the summer time, some swim as far north as Virginia and as far west as Texas. In a few cases, manatees have been observed to cover over 520 miles, each way, during their migrations. One manatee was known to swim 143 miles in only four days!
Manatee deaths throughout Florida have become an issue of serious concern. The primary causes of death are collisions with boats, cold weather, and red tides as well as entanglement in fishing line, loss of habitat, and chemical pollution. These ancient creatures need our help in order to survive into the next century and beyond.


We got our info from http://www.yahooligans.com.


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