The West Indian Manatee
Name Derivation
The first European to encounter a manatee thought that it was actually a mermaid and decided to called the manatee a manatee becuase it came from the Carib word "manati" meaning "woman's breast".
Their Discovery
The first discovery of the manatee was in 1789 by an explorer on his way to the North Pole named Herber Shirley.
Habitat
They typically inhabit rivers, bays, canals, estuaries and coastal areas where there are abundant amounts of seagrass and other sorts of vegetation avaible for eating. They can live in either fresh, salt or brackish waters. They can be ground in any waterway over 3.25 feet deep and connected to the coast. They tend to live in quiet coastal areas, lagoons, lakes, and large rivers where the water temperature is above 18 degrees celcius. These animals also migrate between Florida in the winter, and Alabama/Georgia/South Carolina in the summer.
Characteristics
They are large seal-shaped creatures, with a gray body and a paddle shaped tail. Their head and face are wrinkled with whiskers on their snout to sense and smell. Their closest ancestor is the elephant. The average size of the adult manatee is about 10 feet long and weighs between 800 and 1,200 pounds. When they are first born, baby calfs are between 3 and 4 feet long and between 40 and 60 pounds. They have two front limbs called flippers with 3 claws on each.
Reproduction
They have low reproduction rates. They aren't very sexual creatures, they are mostly very lethargic. They don't become sexually mature until they are about 5 years of age. There is the belief that one calf (baby manatee) is born every two to five years and twins are extremely rare. Mothers are pregnant for about a year and the nursing period goes on for either 1 or 2 years until the calf no longer remains dependent on the mother.
Diet
This manatee is a herbivore, meaning they don't eat meat and rely mainly on vegetation and aquatic plants such as water hyacinth and hydrilla. The West Indian Manatee spends up to 5 hours eating a day. An adult manatee eats as much as 60 to 100 pounds a day. They consume about 4%-9% of their body weigh in wet vegetation each day. They have extremely low metabolic rates as well. They feed off the bottom (bottom-feeders), in the water column, and at the surface. They use their front flippers and flexible lips to grab vegetation.