They are grayish-brown in color and have two flippers with nails on them. The head and face of these animals are wrinkled with whiskers on the snout. The closest relative to the West Indian manatee is the elephant. The average, adult manatee is about 10 feet long and weighs about 1000 pounds. They can reach up to 13 feet in length and weigh up to 3,000 pounds.
Manatees emit sound under the water.
They make these sounds when they are freighted, or interacting with another. Sound is not the only form of communication that a manatee will use there are sight, taste, touch, and smell. Manatees are concentrated in Florida in the winter, but can be found as far west as Louisiana and as far north as Virginia and the Carolinas in the summer months. The Manatee lives in warm, shallow rivers, bays, estuaries and coastal waters. Usually don't live in waters that are below 68 degrees Fahrenheit.