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Manatee predators
Manatee predators








manatee predators

The manatee is referred to as the "sea cow", since its life of munching on underwater greens and drifting from one watery pasture to the next, sometimes in large herds, might seem allot like a cow. They are exclusively vegetarian, but may occasionally scarf in shellfish or other wildlife as they cruise for their favorite plants and algae. Manatees enjoy the warm, shallow waters of coastal marshes, rivers and estuaries.

MANATEE PREDATORS SKIN

They have smoother skin and lack nails on their flippers. They are the smallest species, most easily recognized by a white or pinkish colored chest patch.

manatee predators

They look almost identical to the West Indian, but they have been barely studied, and not much is known about them.īoth the West Indian and the West African manatees can live in water with various degrees of salinity, from fresh, to brackish, to ocean.Īmazonian manatees are strictly a freshwater species found throughout the Amazon basin in countries like Brazil, Peru and Columbia. The West African manatee can be found in the coastal areas of West Africa. The Florida manatee lives along the South Eastern coast of North America, and has been found as far North as Cape Cod, although Georgia is more typically the peak of their range.

manatee predators

Antillean manatees are sometimes called Caribbean manatees. There are two subspecies of West Indian manatee, the Antillean manatee, and the Florida manatee.Īntillean manatees generally range down the coast of Mexico and South America, and can be found near the shorelines of Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti. The West Indian manatee looks allot like a whale or a walrus, but is actually most closely related to the elephant. Notice the flat toenails on each flipper, and the flexible, somewhat prehensile upper lip, that are reminiscent of elephant anatomy. The West Indian Manatee is the largest species, averaging around 10 to 12 feet in total length, and weighing between 8 pounds. This word is taken from the story of the Sirens, who were mermaid-like creatures for which manatees have been mistaken by early explorers like Christopher Columbus! (more on that later.) Sirenians are all very similar in appearance, with smooth, rounded, massive bodies, flipper-like forelimbs, and a webbed tail.










Manatee predators