Oh the Hugh-Manatee

A pun! Finally a pun! As you may have guessed this post is about the elusive but friendly manatee. These peculiar creatures have always fascinated me. Did you know in shallow water they can use their tail to walk? Manatees are interesting animals. 

Here are some facts to help raise awareness about these quirky creatures: 

Their scientific name is Trichechus manatus and are in the Trichechidae family. There populations  range from North America to the East Coast. They can live for 60-70 year. Thats probably why they have all those wrinkles.
 
Manatees are large mammals and can reach up to 13 feet (4 meters) in length and can weigh 1,300 pounds! These gentle aquatic animals are herbivores and will eat 10-15 % of their body weight each day. That means if one manatee is 1,000 pounds they would eat 100-150 pounds of food daily! No wonder they are so heavy!

Manatees are very similar to dolphins and whales. They take breathes often but can stay under the surface for 15 minutes, but when they swim, only three to four minutes. These marine mammals are slow swimmers, but they can also cruise at a stable pace at 5 miles an hour. Luckily they don't have any predators to hide from; except humans.

Manatees are threatened mainly due to boating. They are killed when boat propellors hit them.  They can die, get seriously injured or infected as a result. This is a serious problem and it up to us to help save them.

So lets all lend a fin, and show some hugh- manatee and protect these creatures. For our oceans and sharks, thank you!

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