- Manatees are marine mammals and breathe air through their nostrils.
- Manatees belong to an order of marine mammals called the Sirenians. Dugongs are the other member of this family. Stellar sea cows were also a member of this family, but they were hunted to extinction within 27 years of their discovery.
- Manatees can weigh up to 2,000 pounds.
- Manatees closest modern relative is the elephant. Evidence of this relationship is easy to spot – both animals have three to four fingernails.
- Manatees are typically pretty slow, but, can swim up to 20 mph.
- There are four species of manatees: the West Indian Manatee, the Florida Manatee (technically a subspecies of the West Indian species), the Amazonian Manatee and the West African Manatee.
- Manatees are credited for being the basis for the mermaid legend.
- Manatees are herbivores.
- Manatees can live up to 60 years old.
- Manatees have no natural predators, but, they are peril. Find out more about their plight at Save the Manatees.
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these r my fav animals i mean who doesnt think these things are adorable after seeing
these pics think before you do bad things to the waters
These animals are going exinct. I love these animals and they are super adorable and people destroy their homes by littering in the waters. I maybe adopting a manatee and I joined the save the manatee club. Please save the manatees!!
Thank you for your comment!
“The more you know about a species, the more you understand about how better to help protect them.” Alan Clark
kill polluters, man
that’s a little extream. just try to get people to pollute less.
Manatees are adorable!
yes they r
.lets save them:)
i love manatees they are sooo cute! thank you for some of the facts.
Manatees rock! help them! they can’t do it on thier own.
i know that a woman in FL was arrested and brought to court for touching (patting) a manatee at a beach in Bradenton. It was very clear that she was not trying to hurt the animal at all. Dont you think this is extreme???
Manatees are so cute!!!! I feel bad that most of them died because of the boats and also the pollution.
i love manatees. I feel so bad that most of them died because the pollution.