Manatees - mote.org
2
Manatees are large mammals belonging to the order Sirenia. Their fingernails and wrinkly gray skin resemble that of their closest relative: the elephant. There are three species of the manatee: the West Indian, West African and the Amazonian. The West Indian manatee can be divided further into two subspecies: the Florida and Antillean manatees. Manatees spend six to eight hours a day feeding on sea grasses and other aquatic plants. These docile creatures have no form of defense, and although they have no natural predators, they are susceptible to red tide and cold water temperatures as well as injuries from boats and canal locks. SeahorsePhotoCard.indd 1 4/23/09 2:22:37 PM
Transcript of Manatees - mote.org
Man
atee
s a
re la
rge
mam
mal
s be
long
ing
to th
e or
der
Sire
nia.
The
ir fin
gern
ails
and
wrin
kly
gray
skin
rese
mbl
e th
at o
f the
ir cl
oses
t rel
ativ
e:
the
elep
hant
. Th
ere
are
thre
e sp
ecie
s of
the
man
atee
: the
Wes
t Ind
ian,
Wes
t Afri
can
and
the
Am
azon
ian.
The
Wes
t Ind
ian
man
atee
can
be d
ivid
ed fu
rther
into
two
subs
peci
es:
the
Flor
ida
and
Ant
illea
n m
anat
ees.
Man
atee
s sp
end
six
to e
ight
hou
rs a
day
feed
ing
on s
ea g
rass
es a
nd o
ther
aqu
atic
plan
ts. T
hese
doc
ile c
reat
ures
hav
e no
form
of d
efen
se, a
nd a
lthou
gh th
ey h
ave
no
natu
ral p
reda
tors
, the
y ar
e su
scep
tible
to
red
tide
and
cold
wat
er te
mpe
ratu
res
as w
ell
as in
jurie
s fro
m b
oats
and
can
al lo
cks.
SeahorsePhotoCard.indd 1 4/23/09 2:22:37 PM
SeahorsePhotoCard.indd 2 4/23/09 2:22:43 PM