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Manatee swimming over seagrass in clear green water

Manatee: Facts, Photos & Why It’s So Strange

Trichechus manatus (West Indian manatee)

A floating potato with the soul of a labrador

Half a tonne of slow, friendly, whiskered sea cow. The manatee drifts through warm rivers and bays eating plants for up to eight hours a day and napping the rest. Christopher Columbus famously mistook them for mermaids – and was a bit disappointed.

Manatee vs. you

Your height ft in5 ft 7 in

Quick facts

Size
~9 ft 10 in
About 9 ft 10 in (3 m); up to 13 ft (4 m)
Weight
880–1,200 lb
880–1,200 lb (400–550 kg); the heaviest on record was over 3,300 lb (1,500 kg)
Lifespan
40+ years
40 years or more
Left in the wild
13,000+
At least 13,000

Conservation status

  1. Least Concern
  2. Near Threatened
  3. Vulnerable (this animal)
  4. Endangered
  5. Critically Endangered
  6. Extinct in the Wild
  7. Extinct

Vulnerable

Superpowers

  • Venomous : Is it venomous? No
  • Glows : Does it glow? No
  • Regenerates limbs : Can it regenerate limbs? No

Identity

Scientific name
Trichechus manatus (West Indian manatee)
Class
Mammal (sea cow)
First described
1758, by Carl Linnaeus

Life & family

Diet
Seagrass and water plants – 10–15% of its body weight every day
Gestation
About 12–13 months
Offspring
One calf every 2–5 years
Predators
None, really – boats are the main danger

Where to find it

Habitat
Warm, shallow rivers, estuaries and coastal waters
Lives in
Florida, the Caribbean and northern South America
In the wild
Yes – in Florida’s springs in winter, especially Crystal River
In zoos
Yes – in some aquariums and rescue centres

Explore similar

Why is this animal unusual?

Its closest living relative isn’t a seal or a whale. It’s the elephant. Look closely and you’ll see elephant-like toenails on its flippers.

Why does it look like that?

Wrinkled grey skin, a paddle-shaped tail and a flexible upper lip that splits in two and works like a pair of fingers for grabbing plants.

Strangest biological feature

Marching teeth. A manatee’s molars form at the back of the jaw and slowly move forward like a conveyor belt, dropping out at the front when they’re worn down. This goes on its whole life.

Why is it strange?

It controls how high it floats by storing up or releasing gas from its gut. In other words: a manatee steers with farts.

Interesting behavioral facts

Manatees can’t stand cold water. In winter, hundreds gather in warm springs – and at the warm-water outflows of power stations.

Records held

A manatee called Snooty lived to 69 in a Florida aquarium, the oldest on record.

Grey manatee with a wrinkled snout resting over seagrass in green water

Manatee: quick answers

Are manatees dangerous to humans?

No. They’re gentle plant-eaters with no defences except their size. In the US it’s illegal to harass or disturb them in the wild.

What is the difference between a manatee and a dugong?

Manatees have a rounded, paddle-shaped tail and live in rivers and coastal waters around the Atlantic. Dugongs have a whale-like split tail, live only in the sea and are found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Why are manatees called sea cows?

Because they spend much of the day slowly grazing on seagrass and water plants, like cattle in a field.

What is the biggest threat to manatees?

Boats are one of the biggest. Collisions injure and kill many manatees every year, and many adults in Florida carry propeller scars. Cold snaps and loss of seagrass are dangerous too.

How long can manatees hold their breath?

Usually a manatee comes up for air every 3 to 5 minutes. When it’s resting, it can stay underwater for up to about 20 minutes.

Are manatees endangered?

The West Indian manatee is listed as Vulnerable. In the US, it was moved from endangered to threatened in 2017, but more than a thousand Florida manatees died in 2021 alone, mostly from starvation after seagrass beds collapsed.

Where can you swim with manatees?

In Crystal River, Florida – the only place in the US where swimming with wild manatees is legal, under strict look-but-don’t-touch rules. Hundreds gather in its warm springs in winter.

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Photos & videos