American Manatee (Trichechus manatus)

The American Manatee

Christopher Columbus’ logs carry reports of three mermaid sightings.  Many believe that what they actually saw were American Manatees.  How they could confuse this creature nicknamed the “sea cow” with the beautiful legendary creature that was half woman and half fish is difficult to understand.

American Manatees can live in either fresh or salt water, unlike their cousins the Amazonian Manatees who dwell solely in fresh water.  They tend to choose coastal waters, bays, canals, and rivers with temperatures that are greater than 20 degrees Celsius.  Cold water causes the manatee to become sluggish and lessens its appetite.  American Manatees can be found in many parts of the western world along the Atlantic Coasts.  These places include the United States, Bahamas, Greater Antilles, Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico, Central America, South America (from Columbia to the mouth of the Amazon in Brazil).

The American Manatee resembles a walrus without tusks.  These large creatures may weigh as much as 1,650 kg and grow to a length 4.6 meters.  Each manatee has two flippers, which come in “handy” for eating, moving along the bottom its home, scratching, and even demonstrating affection for other American Manatees.  The upper lip of this mammal is deeply cleft, enabling each side of the lip to moved separately.

Floating vegetation, such as rooted sea grasses, plants, algae, and mangrove feed the hungry American Manatee.  These manatees may choose to eat during the day, or in the middle of the night.  They seem to have no preference.

Globally, the American Manatee seems to have no set breeding season.  On a local level, American Manatees will tend to breed at a time when food is most plentiful.  This usually occurs during the wet season.  Each female has one calf every two to five years.  She will develop a bond with the calf that is greater than any other observed bonding among the American Manatees, as they are generally not socially connected animals.

American Manatee is entirely aquatic, never leaving the water.  It tends to stay within three meters of the surface of the water, cruising along at a speed of three to ten kilometers per hour.  In an emergency it can accelerate to a speed of twenty-five kilometers per hour for a very short distance.

Did you know?

The American Manatee’s back is the home of a large number of crustaceans.

American Manatees communicate with inaudible sounds made underwater.  These squeaks and squeals help the mother keep track of its calf.

The female American Manatee is referred to as a cow.

Further Information on the American Manatee:

E-mail info@brazilianfauna.com to add your American Manatee related website.

Bibliography:

www.animalinfo.org/species/tricmana.htm

www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/mammals/manatee

Glaser, Karen, Reynolds and John Elliot,   (July 2003).  Mysterious Manatees.  University Press of Florida.