Manatee

Legend has it that sailors once mistakenly thought manatees were mermaids - hard to believe!!!! **
 * Manatees  ****

Manatees are large, grey, aquatic mammals. Their bodies taper to a flat paddle-shaped tail. They have two forelimbs called fins. Manatees have only 3-4 nails on each limb. Their head and face are wrinkled with whiskers. They even have whiskers on their snout. Manatees are related to the elephant and hyrax. The average adult manatee is about 9.8 feet long and weighs 800-1,200 pounds. Manatees are found in shallow, slow moving rivers. Manatees are a migrating species. They live in Florida’s coastal waters during winter. Manatees can live to be 50-60 years old or more in the wild. Manatees are gentle and slow moving mammals. Most of their time is spent eating, resting, or traveling. Manatees eat aquatic plants. Manatees can consume 10-15% of their body weight. Manatees are vegetarians which means they eat only plants. They graze for food on the bottom of rivers or just below the surface of the water. Manatees can’t have babies until they are 5 years of age. Manatees have 1 calf every 5 years. It is very rare for a manatee to have twins. Manatee babies are born under water. The mother helps the baby come to the surface for air. Usually the calf can swim when it’s only one hour old!!! After a few months the calf starts grazing, but the mother still gives it milk. The mother and calf stay together for 2 years. It is against the law to kill manatees. You can get a fine of $100,000 and/or go to jail for 1 year. You can help save manatees by not speeding in manatee zones. You can also help by teaching other people about how important manatees are, and about manatee safe zones. You can even adopt a manatee!

If you want to learn more about Manatees visit this site:

http://www.defenders.org/wildlife_and_habitat/wildlife/manatee.php if you want to see a video of manatees