Since I was about two, manatees have fascinated me. Ever since my first trip to Sea World, I've loved this beautiful creature. Unfortunately, future children may not be able to. Manatees are on the endangered species list. They are not hunted for their skin, like the elephant, but they are often hit by boats in the warm rivers and streams of Florida. There are "no wake" signs all over, and it is now illegal to go fast in manatee areas. Hopefully, the population will grow bigger.
The gestation period of a manatee is around 13 months. Newborns weigh around 30-40 pounds at birth and stay with the mother for several years.
Manatee are large seal-like mammals. They have two fins toward the front of their body that help them move about and push food into their mouth.
Manatees usually spend their day eating and sleeping. They eat mostly vegetables because they are herbavores. They don't have any gills so it come up for breath about every 5 minutes. They can stay underwater for about 20 minutes while sleeping.
An average manatee is 9 to 10 feet long. It weighs about 1,000 pounds. Some can grow to as large as 13 feet and weigh more than 3,000 pounds!
Please take this image, and show people that manatees are worth slowing down for. Please link it back to https://www.angelfire.com/me2/SFcause.
If you can find "Psychadellic Danio" on one of my endangered species pages, you will win an award!
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