Manatee facts: 51 Interesting facts about Manatees. Manatees and dugongs are the reasons of many mermaid legends. Folklore tells how seafarers are lured by the songs of mermaids or sea nymphs and steer their ship towards treacherous rocks. However most of it is a product of imaginative brains and after a long sea voyage it is not impossible for a poor seaman too mistake a manatee for mermaid or sea nymphs.
Manatee facts
Manatees are also referred as cows of the sea and are an endangered species with only 10000 manatees left in the wild.
There are three manatee species found in the world: the Amazonian (Trichechus inunguis), the West African (Trichechus senegalensis) and the West Indian (Trichechus manatus).
The African manatees are found in the coastal waters and in the rivers of Western Africa.
The Amazon manatees are found in the Amazon River mouths in Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia.
The West Indian manatees live in southern and eastern United States.
They are very slow animals but great swimmers and can reach 20 mph.
Manatees are very playful and do body rolls as they play.
Manatee has only six vertebrae in its neck and therefore cannot turn their head sideways.
They can survive in both freshwater and saltwater.
Manatees graze on the sea bottom and can reach 13 feet in length and weigh 3500 pounds.
Facts about Manatees
Manatees are herbivorous and their food is mostly composed of water grasses, weeds, and algae.
Manatees can grow huge and some may weigh up to 2000 pounds
Manatees are often mistaken with mermaids and they are also the basis of mermaid legend
Manatees are voracious eaters and can gobble up a tenth of their weight as food in a day.
Even though they are aquatic creatures they must surface to breathe air and they breathe through their nostrils.
Young manatees are born underwater and mothers help them to surface to breathe.
Manatees do not become sexually mature until they reach the age of 4 to seven years.
The closest species to the manatees is the elephant.
Manatee has three or four tiny nails at the end of each flipper. The prehensile snout is a watered down version of the trunk and also use their lips to grasp and pull food in their mouth.
Manatees’ do not have any natural predators but their numbers have dwindled due to human activities.
Manatees facts
Manatees eye close in a circular motion and they do not…
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