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The History of Steller's Sea Cow
Manatee Facts
What's Killing Them?
Manatee Deaths -
How Can You Help?
A Rise or Decline in Population?
*A grim outlook in 2003
My Trip to Sea World!
*My second trip to Sea World
*Manatees in Ohio?
Meet Floyd!
Saying Goodbye to Star
Say hello to Lorelei!
Who's Chessie?
Latest Chessie news!!
Adopt Your Own Manatee
*Manatee Links & Gift Sites!
and more information
about these special mammals
This site last updated 11-21-2003
new information marked with *
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What's a Manatee?
The manatee is a very large, slow moving mammal that lives in
tropical waters. This website focuses on their fight for survival and
helpful information to help spread manatee awareness. Please read on to
discover more about this amazing, gentle creature.
The name manatee comes from the Haitian word "manati". The
scientific genus name Trichechus is Latin for hair.
The average adult manatee is about 10 feet long and weighs about 1,500 pounds. They swim at a speed of 2 mph and in flight they can reach
15 mph. This lack of speed is why we need to be more careful with our boats in the areas
they inhabit. There are more manatee deaths by boating accidents than anything else.
Manatees are herbivorous. They eat aquatic plants and can consume 10-15% of their body
weight daily. They come up for air every three to five minutes. They may surface to
breathe as often as every 30 seconds depending on their activity. This is why they stay in
shallow areas like marinas where they are most likely to be caught in the wake of a
speeder.
Manatees have no natural enemies, and can live 60 years or more if we give them enough
danger-free space. The only way to determine the age
of a manatee that wasn't born in captivity is to count the growth layer rings in
their ear bones, but unfortunately that can't be done unless the manatee has
already died.
Most human-related manatee mortalities occur from collisions with watercraft.
Sadly, the number of manatees killed this way is on the rise! Through
February 28 of 2002, 31 manatees have already been killed by boats! When
you compare that to the 15 killed in 2001 during the same time period, it's more
than discouraging. Something must be done to discontinue this
downtrend. It's all up to us! We must choose to acknowledge their
existence and follow the rules and laws that were made to protect them!
Since human related deaths are the largest impression on the manatee population
and those are the only kind we should be able to control, you'd think we'd all
work together a little harder to make this decline stop!
Other causes
include: being crushed and/or drowned in canal locks and flood control structures;
ingestion of fish hooks, litter and monofilament line; entanglement in crab trap lines;
and vandalism. Cold weather is a problem for them, too. They cannot survive in water below
68°. There are few areas in the United States that keep a temperature in that range
during the cold months, so Florida is most likely where you will find them.
Do you know how to help?
If you live in a manatee populated area and if you see a manatee in distress or any kind
of foul play, always report the incident by calling 800-DIAL-FMP. If you have a boat or
know someone that does, be sure they know how to observe the signs:
Idle Speed Zone: a minimum speed that will maintain the steerageway of the
motorboat.
Slow Speed Zone: the boat is fully off plane, completely settled into the water,
and not creating an excessive wake or other hazardous conditions which endanger other
vessels.
Caution Area: an area frequently inhabited by manatees, requiring caution on the
part of boaters to avoid disturbing or injuring the animals.
Resume Normal Safe Operation: a sign indicating that you may resume safe boating
speed; visible as you leave a protected area.
No Entry Zone: a protected zone that prohibits boating swimming and diving for the
protection of manatees.
There are many misconceptions and one is that we should interact with manatees. While my first thought was
to get close to them since they are so friendly, but I was wrong, unfortunately our kindness can kill them. Literally! If manatees learn to trust human kindness then they will assume all humans will
be friendly. Sadly that's not the case and they can unknowingly put themselves in danger.
Feeding them is another bad idea. If they rely on human food, they may "forget"
how to find and identify their own which can also put them in a dangerous situation if and
when the people stop. Manatees need all the help they can get! If you can help teach
someone how, they'll have a better fighting chance as well! Do you want to help manatees,
but don't think you can because you live in a place they don't? Visit the Save the Manatee(c) Action Page for
more information.
Manatees
are protected under federal law by the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972
and the Endangered Species Act of 1973, which make it illegal to harass,
hunt, capture or kill any marine mammal. Manatees are also protected by the
Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act of 1978. Anyone convicted of violating this
state law faces a possible maximum fine of $500.00 and/or imprisonment for
up to 60 days. Conviction on the federal level is punishable by a fine of up
to $50,000 and/or one year in prison. Feeding manatees, giving them water,
or otherwise altering their natural behavior can be considered harassment.
It is a second degree misdemeanor to intentionally discard any monofilament
fishing line or monofilament netting into or onto the waters of the state of
Florida. |
The graph below show the statistics from 1985 through 2002 as noted by the Florida Fish
and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The hike in numbers in 96 was due to the red tide
that sadly wiped out about 12% of the population. In January of 1996, a bloom of Gymnodinium, a toxic dinoflagellate,
moved into the Florida Gulf coast, from the deeper Gulf waters, creating a "red
tide". It usually blooms several miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico and causes
problems only when it drifts ashore creating the reddish hue in the water. When
this happens, dead fish begin appearing on beaches and beach goers often
experience respiratory irritation, a symptom caused when toxins are released
into the air by crashing waves. In 1996, however, fish were not the only animals
affected. The manatee population suffered as well due to the cold weather
pushing them more south than usual.
Manatee Facts
Although manatees look fat, they actually have very little body fat. They are tropical and
have no need for body fat to keep them warm. A large percentage of the manatee's body is
taken up by the gut tract which contains the stomach and intestines etc. Researchers
believe that the manatee's large size probably evolved as a result of being aquatic and
having a herbivorous (plant-eating) diet. The plants manatees eat have a low nutritional
value, so they make up for that by eating large quantities of them.
A manatee's peduncle (paddle-like tail) allows them to move their large bodies around with ease and
the pectorals (front flippers) are used for navigating and digging up plants. They have very small
eyes, but surprisingly they can see fairly well. They can actaully distinguish
colors and sizes. They have large noses that are used to help
them grab plants just like an elephant would with it's trunk. Their sense of sound and
smell is very strong and they communicate by making high-pitched sounds. They can also leave
their scent for other manatees to find.
Breeding between manatees takes place when one or more males are attracted to a female to
form a mating herd. Although the males in mating herds compete intensely for access to the
female, a permanent bond between male and female does not form.
March through November is the usual mating season although some manatees have been
conceived from December through February. The length of the gestation period is
approximately 13 months. The normal litter size is one, with
twins being very rare.
Calves usually stay with the mother for one to two years after birth.
Manatee calves are about three to four feet long and weigh between 60 and 70 pounds at
birth. Mother manatees nurse their young for a long period and a calf may remain dependent
on its mother for up to two years. The calf nurses from nipples located behind the
mother's flippers and will begin to eat plants a few weeks after birth.
Manatees have a higher gray matter to white matter ratio than any other mammal known,
including humans! Since gray matter is the area of the brain where thinking occurs, it
could be that manatees are a lot smarter even than us! More research needs to be done to
understand the manatee brain and how it relates to their intelligence.
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