Manatees

A Manatee is a large aquatic herbivorous mammal. There are three different species of Manatee living in different locations: The West Indian Manatee, The West African Manatee and The Amazonian Manatee.

   These creatures are 13 ft long and can weigh as much as 1,300 lbs. They have oar-like flippers and often have brown/grey wrinkled skin with whiskers on several parts of their body and snout.

### Description

The Manatee is an overly large grey mammal. When they are born manatees tend to have an average size of 66 lbs. They have a large flexible lip that allows them to gather food easily, social and communicational interactions.

### First Steps

Manatees have a very low reproductive rate and are not sexually reproductive until they are five years old. Males are sexually reproductive at 9 years old. When you actually look at Manatees mating it is a group of males with 2 females mixed in. Every 2-5 years a calf is born and the possibility of twins is rare. Since they have such a low reproductive rate, the only exception of a calf being born in 2 years is if the mother looses a calf after birth. Female manatees can birth a baby at anytime of the year and their hormones will be increased. When the females are ready to give birth they move to a quiet area. Birth processes are very undocumented but it is noted that the babies come out either head to tail or tail to head. The newborn swims to the surface and releases noises that allow the mother and calf to bond. The calves nurse soon after birth on their mothers teats and follows the mother parallel to them always.

### Growing Up

Manatees have to face many dangers everyday with their babies. Since they are slow moving they have to watch out from moving boats that invade their waters. This is the main danger manatees have in their lives. The unbreakable bond that the Manatees have with their offspring is very great. The mothers get in between anything that is potentially harmful for their children. The calves eat plants with their mother and eventually separate from their mothers when they reach a matured age. The problem with manatees is that they are very dependent of human care and some people think this is their downfall.

### Home

Manatees are mostly known to live in the warm waters of central Florida. They can be found in shallow estuaries, saltwater bays, canals and coastal areas where the seabed grass is flourished. Manatees are migratory animals and are often found as far as Massachusetts and south in Texas. West Indian Manatees are found in central America and found in Northern South American waters.

### Power

Manatees are semi-social animals and are not known to have alphas or dominant packs. They are not dependent of herds or have a social structure when in herds.

### Courtship

During the mating season a single female manatee will be followed by a dozen male manatees. Male experience is plays a successful role in breeding. Mating is a free for all and can often look like a dramatic flailing of fins and flippers. Females can mate with several males and it is because of this that scientists don't know what the father of the calves are.

### Parenthood

The cycle starts over again, every 2-5 years the female manatees become pregnant and are able to have their babies which follow them into adulthood.