This page is also available in Spanish. These large animals were once thought to be related to walrus because of the way they look. Today, scientists are able to identify animals using genetics. Now they know that manatees are more closely related to elephants than any other living animal.
Scientists believe that manatees evolved from land mammals that returned to an aquatic life.
Manatees are large marine mammals weighing up to 2000 pounds and reaching more than 12 feet in length. Like whales, their large bodies can only be supported in their watery environment. On land, their body weight would crush their internal organs. Manatees are the only marine mammals that are herbivores. Just to keep their big bodies warm, they have to eat up to one tenth of their body weight every day.