After a few months, a calf begins to graze, though it still drinks milk from its mother. Calves often play with other manatees. They squeak, squeal, and scream. They nuzzle, nibble, and nudge one another. They even embrace with their flippers.
Manatees probably recognize each other by the sounds they make and by touch.
Their skin is thick and wrinkled, but very sensitive. People have hunted manatees for food and for their hides, oil, and bones. In the past century, the number of manatees has steadily decreased. As a result, laws have been passed to help protect the animals, but manatees are often wounded or killed by motorboats that travel through the waters where they live. Many of these slow moving animals have scars on their bodies caused by propeller blades.