Interesting Manatee Facts (Sea Cow)

Interesting Manatee Facts (Sea Cow)

1. Manatees belong to the Order Sirenia, which includes manatees and dugongs (a marine mammal similar to the manatee that lives in the South Pacific).

2. There are four manatee species alive today. One species that did not survive, the Stellar’s Sea Cow, was hunted to extinction in the 18th century.

3. The West Indian manatee’s scientific name is Trichechus manatus.

4. Adult manatees are 8 to 15 feet long and can weigh 450 to 2,500 pounds. They can live longer than 50 years.

5. The skin of a manatee is very thick and wrinkled and medium gray or brown. It is often covered by algae or encrusted with barnacles. The skin on calves is usually darker than adult skin.

6. Their bodies are cigar-shaped with a paddle-like tail and two flippers, which are used for locomotion and holding food.

7. Manatees breath air and have hair like all other mammals. They look like a relative of dolphins and whales but manatees are closer related to elephants.

8. When the Spanish Explorers reached Florida they thought the Manatees were mermaids. 

9. Manatees like warm, shallow water with lots of plants to eat.

10. Manatees are slow swimmers. 

11. Calves spend two years with their mothers learning the migration routes. 

12. It takes 13 months for a manatee to be born.

13. A manatee cannot turn its head sideways, it must turn its whole body.

14. Manatee lungs are 2/3 the length of its body.  

15. Manatee can hold their breath for up to 24 minutes. 

16. Manatees only breath through their nostrils. 

17. The intestine of an adult manatee can measure 130 feet long. 

18. Manatee teeth are constantly being replaced as they wear down and fall out. 

19. Manatees chew two times per second. 

20. Manatees only have molars to grind their food.