West Indian Manatee
Scientific Name : Trichechus manatus manatus Other Common Names : Sea Cow Status : Vulnerable Average Lifespan (In the wild) : 30 years
Location
Two subspecies of West Indian Manatee are found in the Western Atlantic T. m. latirostris and T. m. manatus with the T. m. manatus being found in the Caribbean, Central and South America.
Description
The West Indian Manatee is a large aquatic mammal that is gray or brown in colour with a sparse cover of hair on its skin. The Manatee is easily identified by its large, flat, paddle-shaped like tail. It has other fairly large body parts such as its head and front flippers. It also has no ears or hind legs.
Manatees are about 10 feet long and can weigh up to 1,000 pounds. Sexual dimorphism is observed in manatees with females being longer and weighing more than males.
Diet
The West Indian Manatee is a specialized feeder with a diet primarily of sea grass. It grazes 5-8 hours a day and can daily eat 5- 10 % of its bodyweight.
The West Indian Manatee is highly distributed but can be found in grazing pastures in shallow coastal areas and freshwater ecosystems. In deeper waters, food and freshwater may be unavailable with higher levels of predation.
Movement
Manatees are capable of complex moves such as somersaults, rolls and swimming upside down. They rest for several hours at a time both day and night near the water surface or at the bottom with the exception of going to the surface to breathe.
Mating
The West Indian Manatees can mate all year round.
Males reach breeding maturity at around 9 years old but is capable of mating as early as 2 years old while the female reaches capable of mating around 4-5 years old but generally mates between 7-9 years old.
Manatees have a low reproductive rate of about 1 calf every 2-3 years. Manatee pregnancies can go up to 14 months and after birth the calf may nurse for up to 2 years. This lessens the manatee’s ability to greatly revive population sizes.
Conservation Status
The West Indian Manatee is Vulnerable based on a population size of less than 2,500 mature individuals. The Manatee has no natural predators but is threatened by many factors such as habitat degradation, pollution, red tide outbreaks (algal bloom), hunting and incidental catch, coastal development and collision with boats.
Fun Facts
Fossil evidence suggest the ancestor of present day manatees arose during the Miocene likely in South American coastal rivers and lagoons.
In the 1960s it was disclosed that Manatees were used to clear canals overgrown with weeds in Guyana since 1885.
Manatees along with Dugongs of the same Order Sirenia, are the only obligate herbivores of predacious marine mammals
Manatee molars are continuously replaced throughout life as it wears down due to the abrasive plants if feeds on