Florida is a wondrous place filled with a wide variety of plants, animals and birds. For instance there are nearly 300 species of trees native to Florida and over 450 species of birds. It’s a nature loves paradise, especially for a northern guy like me in the middle of winter.
Even if you are not a nature nut like me, there is one Florida species that is so unique it captivates even the most citified of people—the Florida Manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) also known as the sea cow.
Manatees range from Brazil, Mexico, southeastern U.S. and the Caribbean islands.
The Florida Manatee is one of two sub species of the West Indian Manatee. The other subspecies is the Antillean Manatee which occurs from Brazil to Mexico. The Florida Manatee is found along the Atlantic coast from the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida and also in the Gulf of Mexico from Florida to Texas. However the main concentration of these endangered species is found in and around Florida.
Manatees appear in the fossil record around 50-60 million years ago. There are many fossilized remains found in the Native American rubbish piles that pre-date the arrival of the early Spaniards.
Manatees are large marine mammals, with adults weighting on average 1,000 pounds with some as much as 1,500 lbs. They have an average length of 12 to 14 feet. Like elephants, they continue to grow throughout their lives with the largest manatee ever recorded at 13 feet 4 inches and weighed over 3,200 lbs.
They are gentle giants spending most of their day sleeping and feeding on aquatic plants. They consume about 150 pounds of vegetation each day. They use their eyesight to find the food.
Female manatees become sexually mature at 4-5 years of age. Mothers give birth to a single calf once every two to five years. Only rarely do they have twins. Calves weigh about 75 to 90 pounds upon birth and are over 6 feet long. Since these are marine mammals, the calves suckle milk from their mothers for the first 5-6 months and start eating aquatic vegetation at 3-5 months.
Most calves stay with their mothers for up to 2 years before moving out on their own. During this time the calves learn what kinds of plants are good to eat, where the warm water refuges are located and the migratory route from their mothers.
Being air breathing animals, manatees need to surface every 3-5 minutes to breath but they can remain submerged for up to 15 minutes if necessary.
There are fewer than 3,000 manatees left in the wild. They have no natural enemies except for power boats which kill many manatees each year. Combine that with a slow reproductive rate and you have a potential for extinction. Because of this they are listed as an endangered species. If you are ever in Florida it would be well worth your time and effort to see these magnificent marine mammals.
Back to Column