Here are some Manatee Facts:

• Manatees are marine mammals.
• Manatees are also known as sea cows.
• Manatees are gentle, non-aggressive animals.
• There are three species of manatees: West Indian Manatees (Trichechus Manatus), West African Manatees (Trichechus Senegalensis), Amazonian or South American Manatees (Trichechus Inunguis).
• There are also two sub-species of manatees: Antillean Manatee (Trichechus Manatus Manatus) and Florida Manatee (Trichechus Manatus Latirostris).
• Manatees mainly live in shallow (3ft-10ft) rivers, saltwater bays, canals and marshy costal areas.
• Amazonian manatees live in freshwater.
• Manatees cannot survive in water temperatures below 60 degrees.
• They live in the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, Amazon Basin and West Africa.
• Adult manatees can grow to be 9ft-13ft long.
• On average manatees weigh between 800-1,300 pounds.  There have been manatees that weighed up to 3,000 pounds!
• Manatees live to be between 40-60 years old.
• Manatees are gray.
• They have two paddle like flippers one on each side of their body and a big flat tail.
• The West Indian and West African Manatees have 3-4 nails on each flipper.
• The flippers help them steer while swimming. Manatees also use their flippers to help them eat.
• They swim by moving their flat tail up and down.
• While swimming sometimes manatees will do flips underwater, roll around and even swim upside down.
• Since manatees are mammals they cannot breathe underwater.
• Manatees usually come up for air every 3-4 minutes but have been known to hold their breath for up to 20 minutes.
• Manatees are slow swimmers.  They usually swim between 3-5 mph.  They can swim up to 20mph for very short distances.
• Manatees spend most of their time eating, resting or traveling.
• Manatees are herbivores meaning they only eat plants although at times manatees will eat small fish.
• Manatees eat turtle grass, different types of algae, water hyacinth and other types of plants in the water.
• Manatees have a large flexible lip that they use to help them eat.
• Manatees eat around 100 pounds of food every day!
• Manatees travel between 40-50 miles every day!
• Manatees have two small eyes one on each side of their head.  Even though they have small eyes manatees have good eyesight.
• Manatees cannot move their neck from side to side.  To see behind them they must turn their entire body!
• Manatees also have good hearing.  They have no earlobes on the outside of their head but two inner lobes one on each side of their head.
• Manatees have 24-32 molars located in the back of their mouths.  When their molars get worn down from when they eat, new teeth (molars) grow in.
• Mom manatees are pregnant for around 12-13 months.
• Baby manatees are called calves.
• Mom manatees only give birth to one manatee at a time.
• When a calf is born the mother manatee brings him/her to the surface to breath.
• Calves live with their mom for two years.
• Manatees spend most of their time alone however, they have been known to interact with other manatees and even play with them. They like to bodysurf with other manatees.
• Manatees will communicate with other manatees by making chirping, whistling and squeaking sounds.  They also make these sounds when they are scared.
• Manatees have a good sense of smell.
• It is illegal to hunt them.
• The only known predator to a manatee is a human.
• Manatees often die from getting hit by boats.
• Manatees also suffer from loss of habitat.
• Like dolphins, manatees are smart can be trained to learn tricks.

Female manatees know what it is like to be sought after — perhaps they feel a little too sought after. If you ever see what appears to be a large herd of manatees huddled together in the water, experts said they are likely mating. For every one female manatee, biologists said there can be up to 25 male manatees surrounding her, drawn to her pheromones.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission tweeted out a reminder to be mindful of mating manatees. Earlier last year, the FWC produced a video featuring manatee biologist Kane Rigney explaining just how exhausting manatee mating season can be for the females of the species.

“There are a large number manatees that look to be frolicking with each other in shallow waters, generally climbing on top of each other,” Rigney said in the video.

They’re basically fighting over the one “focal” female.

Manatees have a long mating period that starts in the spring around March and can extend all the way to November.

Boaters could see a mating group of manatees in deeper waters and beachgoers could spot them on the shoreline. In recent years, a group of mating manatees stopped traffic near the Courtney Campbell Causeway as drivers gawked at the sight.

Sometimes, Rigney said, the manatees get close to shore because the female manatees will resort to trying to beach themselves to get away from the intense male attention.

Anyone who comes upon a group of mating manatees should leave them alone and keep their distance, Rigney said. Interfering with their mating habits could be considered harassment — it could also prove to be dangerous.

“Manatees mating have one thing in mind when they’re mating,” he said.

Here is some interesting information regarding these gentle and fascinating creatures of the sea:

• Manatees are typically found in shallow coastal areas and rivers where they feed on sea grass, mangrove leaves, and algae. These herbivores munch on food for almost half the day, eating ten percent of their body weight in plant mass every day. With weights of up to 1,200 pounds, that is a whole lot of greenery!
• West Indian and West African manatees spend their lives on the cusp between salty and fresh water. They are able to maintain the correct balance in their bodies through an internal regulation system that works with the kidney to make sure salt concentrations never get too high. It is believed that West Indian manatees require some access to freshwater (PDF) in order to stay hydrated, but they are able to easily move between the two ecosystems.
•  Warm water is a must for the West Indian and West African manatee species. With low metabolic rates and minimal fat protection from cold water, they stick to water that is 60 degrees or warmer. They may look fat and insulated, but the large body of the manatee is mostly made up of their stomach and intestines! In colder months, they find their way to warm river tributaries or warm water outputs from power plants. In 2010 at least 246 manatees died in Florida due to cold stress from the colder-than-normal winter.
• Manatees go to the surface of the water every three to five minutes to breathe although they can remain underwater longer, holding their breath for up to 20 minutes. When they do take a breath, 90 percent of the air in their lungs is replaced (whereas humans tend to replace about 10 percent).
• The Amazonian manatee lives entirely in freshwater rivers throughout South America in the Amazon Basin. It is hard to estimate their numbers due to their secretive nature and the murky water where they often live. A fourth dwarf manatee species was described in the mid-2000s, but this claim was called into question and it is believed to actually be a juvenile Amazonian manatee. The main threat to this species is illegal harpoon hunting for subsistence.
• Dugongs in the same order as manatees, spend all of their time in coastal ocean waters of the Indian Ocean and western Pacific and they don’t ever venture into freshwater. Although they look similar to manatees, dugongs have a more whale-like fluke compared to the round, paddle-like tail that you see on manatees.
• The closest living relatives of sirenians are elephants. Manatees evolved from the same land animals as elephants over 50 million years ago and the fossil record shows a much more diverse group of sirenians than we have today, with dugongs and manatees living together throughout their range.