And one more thing he just penned a children's book about Florida's endangered manatee. Bray, born and raised in Tate's Hell Swamp in Florida, learned to respect the environment at a very early age. Pictures of Ana Lee, her family, friends and foes, illustrated by Julia Matteson, also an FSU graduate, are sure to captivate the reader with the turn of every page. There were once five species of Sirenia manatees, but one, the Steller's sea cow, was hunted to extinction by man in 1768. Although not the norm, manatees have been known to reach thirteen feet in length and weigh more than 3,500 pounds.
Manatees breathe through their nostrils, just like seals.
Although manatees look fat, they have very little body fat. Manatee fossils have been found that were 60 million years old.