📷 (c) Samuel Paul Galick, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY
📷 (c) Samuel Paul Galick, some rights reserved (CC BY)
📷 (c) Samuel Paul Galick, some rights reserved (CC BY)
IUCN: Vulnerable
West Indian Manatee
Trichechus manatus
KingdomAnimalia›PhylumChordata›ClassMammalia›OrderSirenia›FamilyTrichechidae›GenusTrichechus
About
The West Indian manatee is a slow-moving marine mammal that grazes on aquatic vegetation in warm shallow waters. Its rounded body, flexible lips, and paddle-shaped tail are adapted for a peaceful life among seagrass beds and rivers. Boat strikes, habitat loss, and cold stress remain major threats to this long-lived sirenian.
Key Facts
⛰Habitat Warm coastal shallows, rivers, estuaries, and seagrass beds
🍃Diet Herbivore — seagrasses, freshwater plants, and algae
📏Size & Weight Body 2.5–4 m
•weight 200–600 kg
⏳Lifespan 50–60 years
🗺Range Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, southeastern United States, and northern South America
MammalMarine
Key Facts
⛰Habitat Warm coastal shallows, rivers, estuaries, and seagrass beds
🍃Diet Herbivore — seagrasses, freshwater plants, and algae
📏Size & Weight Body 2.5–4 m
•weight 200–600 kg
⏳Lifespan 50–60 years
🗺Range Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, southeastern United States, and northern South America
Photo Credits
#1(c) Samuel Paul Galick, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY
#2(c) Samuel Paul Galick, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY
#3(c) Samuel Paul Galick, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY
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