These docile air breathing marine mammals average 10 feet in length and weigh approximately 1,200 pounds. Once plentiful, the state manatee population has dwindled due to hunting, habitat alteration, and other natural and man-caused influences. Today, there only approximately 2,500 manatees living in Florida waters. Manatees are herbivores which feed upon a wide variety of submerged and emergent vegetation.
Preferred food is seagrass, mangrove leaves, algae, water hyacinth, and hydrilla.
They spend 6-8 hours per day eating. They generally inhabit shallow, slow-moving rivers, bays, canals, estuaries and other coastal waters. Slow swimmers, manatees are particularly susceptible to injuries due to collisions with motor boats. As a consequence, many waterways have been designated as idle speed, slow speed, or exclusionary zones to reduce the potentially harmful interaction between boaters and manatees. Manatees are protected by the Federal Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 and the Endangered Species Act of 1973.