Manatees are marine mammals that belong to the
family Sirenians.

Believe it or not, the closest relatives to manatees are
elephants and aardvarks. They have similar dental
characteristics and the lack of nails or hooves. There are
four living species of sirenians, in two separate families, the Trichechidae that has three species of manatees which are the West Indian, West African, and Amazonian and the Dunongidae, the Dugong, found in Australia. A second dungongid, the Stellar's Sea Cow, was unfortunately hunted to extinction in the 18th century.

Sirenians have torpedo shaped bodies, no dorsal fin, no hindlimbs, very little hair and paddle-like forelimbs used for maneuvering. The manatees have large round tails like beavers while dugongs have a more v-shaped tail like a dolphin. Both are air-breathing herbivores.

They feed on a variety of true grasses and seagrasses. Their thick moveable lip pads have stiff bristles that help them grasp and move food towards their mouth. Manatees have only molars, which they constantly replace, like sharks, as they wear out from their abrasive diet.

There are actually two subspecies of the West Indian Manatee, the Florida Manatee and the Antillean Manatee. The Florida Manatee is found in the southeastern United States and the Antillean Manatee is found throughout the Greater Antilles and along the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic coast of Central and South America.

The Florida Manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) can move freely from fresh water to salt water. They inhabit the coasts, estuaries and major rivers in Florida year-round. During warmer months they will travel as far north as Rhode Island and as far west as Louisiana. In the winter months they congregate in Florida, seeking refuge in warm-water springs and industrial facilities that discharge heat into the water, like power plants.

Manatees are usually found in groups of mother and calf pairs or females with males. The majority of the social unit is mainly the mother and calf. Manatees communicate like dolphins and whales, using high-pitched squeaks and squeals. If danger is present mothers will usually position themselves between their calfs and the danger. They spend about six to eight hours a day feeding and rest for two to four hours a day in warm weather or up to eight hours a day in colder weather. Manatees will usually breathe together, rest together and travel together. They can travel up to 30 miles a day, and can travel around 300 miles between their winter and summer areas.

In Florida, we have observed on many occasions, several male manatees trying to mate with a single female. We have seen this behavior mainly along the beaches with the female on occasion beaching herself to get a little rest from the chase. Females usually have a single offspring after a gestation period of over a year. They will not have another for two to three years. The calves will stay with their mother for approximately 18 months, never leaving her side.

Manatees have a life span of about 60-70 years. There are only about 3000 Florida Manatees left in the wild. They have no natural predators, and the population has been declining for many years, and all causes are related to human activities. Boating accidents, getting caught in flood gates and locks, entanglement in fishing gear along with loss of habitat have reduced the manatee population drastically. The population seems to be on the rise, but with the loss of habitat and the increase in boating and water activities by humans, it is uncertain if this increase will continue.

Manatees are protected under the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act of 1978 as well as the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972.