Marvellous Manatees
Manatees, also known as sea cows, are gentle harmless herbivores, that live in marshy coastal areas and rivers of West Africa, the Amazon basin, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.
Generally solitary creatures, apart from when breeding, manatees spend half the day sleeping underwater, surfacing for air at approximately 20 minutes intervals. The rest of the time is spent eating when the manatees use their flippers to “walk” along the river or marsh area bottom grazing on vegetation.
They feed on over 60 different freshwater and saltwater plants and will eat 10-15% of their body weight in a day. As the adults average 9-10 feet in length and can reach 15ft in length and weigh up to 2 tons, that is a lot of vegetation!!
Like horses, they have a small stomach but a very long gut to digest all of the fibrous plant material. Their intestines are generally about 147 feet in length, exceptionally long for an animal of their size.
Manatees can live up to 60 years of age and are intelligent creatures. They have good long-term memory and have shown task-learning capabilities similar to dolphins.
They breed once every two years and have only one calf. They are pregnant for 12 months and then raise and wean their calf in the next 12-18 months.
While natural deaths in manatees occur due to adverse temperatures, disease, and loss of young to crocodiles, the biggest threat to them comes from human activities.
In addition to habitat loss, becoming entangled in fishing gear, or being crushed or trapped in locks or floodgates, they are particularly vulnerable to damage by propellor driven boats and ships. Some manatees have been found with up to 50 scars on their backs. Even if they aren’t killed outright, these cuts can become infected and so lead to death.
The manatee was believed to be the basis for mermaid legends. In West Africa, they were considered sacred, having been believed to have once been human, and killing one required penance.
As much as animals like elephants are currently under threat in Central Africa, whales, manatees and turtles, to name a few, are probably in far more dire peril — and almost nobody knows.
Peter Walsh
This month is manatee awareness month when people all over are trying to raise the profile of the humble and endangered manatee. Thankfully, there are still plenty of people out there fighting the corner for these gentle creatures, and hopefully, the manatees will be protected so they can continue their gentle harmless ways in peace.
