I’m a Manatee
I am a creature of the sea

I am very long in length about 9 feet from snout to tail weighing 1,000 pounds or more.

Some of us grow to 13 feet weighing 3000 pounds or more.



I’m a gentle giant

I’m docile and agreeable

I live in the waters where I swim and search for food underneath the surface and come up for air regularly.



I have two flippers to help me steer in the waters.



Manatees propel themselves forward in the seas with their tails steering with their flippers.



Manatees have thick leathery skin to protect them in the waters but it tends to flake and fall off because of the salty waters.



Manatees prefer to be alone but at times will swim with others in search of food and to assure their safety.



Manatees eat aquatic plants usually but have been known to eat small fish and crustaceans on occasion.



Manatees live in saltwater, freshwater, brackish waters but need freshwater in their diet to drink to prevent dehydration.



Manatees are called “sea cows” because they resemble cows and are gentle natured like the cow though they are not of the cow family.



Manatees are closely related to elephants though they’re of the sea and not land like their distant relatives.



Manatees are fascinating creatures and exist in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, the Amazon and West Africa.



Manatees can adapt from freshwater to saltwater but must eventually navigate back to freshwater for their survival.



There are three species of Manatee; West Indian, Amazonian and African.



Manatees can be traced back to over 50 million years and were once thought to live on land eventually seeking out the sea over time.



Manatees are intelligent despite their small brain size and have complex social relationships and interact with each other with sound and physical contact.



Manatees will look for mates as part of their social interactions when they are mature and ready to go on their own around 3 to 5 years leaving the care of their mother.



Manatees have a life expectancy of 50 to 60 years in the wild oceans but sadly fall victim to accidents involving ships and large boat propellers shortening their life expectancy.



Many manatees have scars resulting from contact with propellers and have died from accidents at sea.



They stand a better chance in captivity where they can live to 65 or older and are assured a safe environment free of predators and contact with boat propellers.



Manatees in the United States live in the Southeast and Puerto Rico but do swim along the East coast during summer months in warm waters as far north as Massachusetts.



Many manatees live in Florida and are protected by their state laws and federal laws of the United States.



Manatees are truly amazing creatures of the sea and must be protected like all sea and wild life.



Only we can protect them.



Scientists have warned of global warming and climate change which affect all of us including the manatee.



If we don’t enact legislation and laws to address these threats we will lose these beautiful creatures as well as earth’s precious resources and life as we know it.



I live in the sea and I am part of this beautiful land and seascape.



I am fine when the earth and sea is.



Please protect us

Please protect the earth

Please protect the sea

I’m a manatee