Manatees

Big Cypress

National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

Big Cypress 

National Preserve

The Florida manatee is a gentle giant of coastal Florida, lumbering in warm shallow waters during the dry winter months, 

and reaching vast distances in the Gulf of Mexico during the warmer summer months. Designated as the Florida state marine 

mammal many people hope to catch a glimpse of one, but their way of life is often veiled in mystery and legend. In seaman’s 

lore, they were often mistaken for mythic mermaids. 

The manatee is a large aquatic mammal that is found in saltwater environments around the state. They are 

described as pudgy grey animals with a rounded nose, 

flippers, and a paddle-like tail, but they are surprisingly agile 

as they have been viewed somersaulting and playing in the 

water. Manatees are covered in an aquatic version of fur 

known as pelage, a substance thought to help prevent the 

growth of algae that afflicts the slow moving organisms in 

salt water environments. They are quite large growing up 

to 15 feet long. The average size manatee is approximately 

seven to nine feet in length, and may weigh up to 1,800 lbs! 

Females tend to be the larger of the species with an average 

female weighing 1,000 lbs, and males averaging 750 lbs. 

There are four species of manatee found throughout the 

world; the West Indian or Florida manatee, the Amazonian 

manatee, the West African manatee, and the Chinese 

dugong. These creatures have intrigued humans for 

centuries. They have provided many shipwrecked sailors 

with a food source and became known as a delectable 

delicacy, which led to the extinction of one of the world’s 

manatee species, the Stellar sea cow The Stellar sea cow 

was the largest type of manatee ever known, and only found 

off an island in the Northern Pacific Ocean. It was first 

discovered in the mid 1700s by a shipwrecked sailor and 

naturalist known as Georg Stellar, but within 27 years of its 

discovery it had been hunted to extinction. 

History

Throughout history the manatee has been viewed in 

different ways. Sailors in the days gone by would notice 

these large mammals swimming near the surface of the 

water. You could imagine that after months at sea without 

seeing any women many sailors would tend to believe these 

majestic creatures could be mermaids beckoning to them, 

sending messages of love and enticement. Manatees belong 

to the order of Sirenian, which is derived from the ancient 

Greek myth, The Odyssey, in which siren temptresses 

seduced sailors to shore in order to shipwreck them onto 

their island. Today many people refer to the manatee as 

a sea cow because it appears to be a large cow-like sea 

creature feeding on various types of plants, much like cows 

grazing in the fields. 

Did You Know?

In many cases, boat inflicted injuiries occur because manatees cannot hear boats moving towards them—not because 

manatees are slow moving. The sound frequency emitted by the motor is outside the hearing range of the manatee. 

Studies have shown that increasing the frequency of sound emitted by boats may help warn the manatees of imposing 

danger. Future boats may be equipped with a warning system that could decrease the number of manatee accidents.

NPS/© Gary Bremen
E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C A

Feeding

Manatees are herbivores, meaning they eat only vegetation 

and grasses.They have a highly varied choice of grasses they 

consume; manatee grass, turtle grass, sea grass, shoal grass, 

algae, mangrove leaves, and mangrove seeds just to name 

a few. It is a good thing they like to eat so many vegetables 

because they need to consume around 10-15 percent of 

their body weight every single day, which equates to 150-

300 pounds of food that a manatee could eat per day. Now 

that’s an appetite! Due to such a massive need to eat, 

manatees may need to travel vast distances in search of food, 

which is usually found in more shallow and warmer waters. 

It can sometimes be difficult to find the amount of food 

necessary in the cooler winter months and the manatees 

need to travel inland in search of warmer waters.

Reproduction

Female manatees are typically solitary. While many other 

mammals pair up and mate with each other for life, the 

female manatee only meets up with males in order to 

reproduce. Up to 12 males at a single time may pursue a 

female for several weeks in the hopes of mating with her. 

If any of the males succeed, the female will then spend the 

12-14 months of gestation alone. Each pregnancy yields 

one calf, which the mother nurses on milk, just like other 

mammals. She spends a few years with her calf teaching 

it how to survive; learning to swim, proper breathing 

techniques, which grasses to eat, and more. A single female 

may only reproduce a few times during her lifetime. 

Human Interaction

Manatees are just as curious about humans as we are about 

them. In many documented cases manatees have surfaced 

near boats in what seems like an attempt to investigate 

humans. This curiosity has led to many unfortunate 

interactions between manatees and boats. Fast moving 

boats and slow moving manatees is a recipe for disaster 

that affects manatees much more negatively than the boats. 

Watercraft propellers injure and even kill manatees. These 

interactions leave the manatees with scars, known as skeg 

marks. While tragic, the scars aid researchers in identifying 

individual manatees. 

Status

Manatees are considered a threatened species in the 

United States and as such are afforded protection under 

penalty of law. The dwindling population of manatees 

concerns scientists and conservationists around the world. 

In addition to, and perhaps even more fatal than boat 

collisions, is cold stress, which is a contributing factor to 

manatee mortality. A body of water below 680F is deadly to 

manatees, and the recent trend of water temperature around 

the state of Florida has been dropping well below this 

despite the historical temperatures, which have helped the 

manatee survive. Manatees search for and utilize any warm 

waters it can find. The canal system of South Florida and the 

brackish water areas of the Big Cypress National Preserve 

serve as sanctuary providing a shallower body of water that 

retains more warmth throughout the cooler months.

The typical view of a manatee from a South Florida dock. Oftentimes, viewers may only get a glimse of a 

manatee’s snout or hear a loud snort. The Big Cypress Swamp Welcome Center features a viewing platform from 

which manatees are frequently sighted. Photo courtesy of T. Strom/NPS

Manatee_FINAL.indd on HQ shareall, interp publications, 4,000 printed, 10/2011, Stored at Oasis and WC