November is manatee awareness month! While these gentle creatures have no natural predators, they are under threat from mankind and from environmental dangers. The primary danger to the manatee is boat collisions. They can be mortally wounded from impacts with watercraft or propellers, and many manatees bear scars indicating less lethal encounters.
Observing no wake zones and moving carefully through the shallow estuaries and canals the manatee calls home is the biggest favor you can do the manatee. Also, be aware that touching or chasing them is illegal in most areas. If they approach you, be gentle and low key. Manatees are surprisingly sensitive to touch. Here are ten more fun facts about this gentle giant of the sea.
- Also called sea cows, they can grow up to 13 feet in length and weigh up to 1300 pounds. Manatees eat roughly a tenth of their body weight each day, subsisting on plants, grasses, weeds, and algae.
- They are more closely related to elephants than sea lions or other marine creatures.
- Manatees are credited with being the origin of the mermaid myth.
- At rest, a manatee can hold its breath for up to 15 minutes. While swimming, they must surface every three to four minutes for air.
- Despite the small size of their eyes, they have good eyesight. Even though their ears are not visible, their hearing is quite good due to their large inner ear bones.
- They have an average speed of about 3 to 5 mph but can accelerate up to 19 mph for short bursts. They are very agile in the water, executing somersaults and swimming upside down.
Manatees are not known for being clever. Their brain-to-body size ratio is the smallest of any mammal, but they can learn basic tasks and tell the difference between colors.- A manatee pregnancy lasts from 11 to 13 months. Babies weigh an average of 60 pounds at birth, and can usually swim on their own within an hour of being born. They will stay with mother for about two years.
- Manatees live in shallow rivers, canals, and coastal areas, most commonly in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, West Africa, and the Amazon Basin.
- They can live up to 60 years, with an average lifespan in the wild of about 40 years.
Images via psyberartist, Sophs74
