Manatee
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Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus Trichechus) are large aquatic mammals sometimes known as sea cows. The Trichechidae differ from the Dugongidae in the shape of the skull and the shape of the tail. Manatees' tails are paddle-shaped, while the Dugong's are forked. They are herbivores, spending most of their time grazing in shallow waters, and can weigh anywhere from 1,000 to 2,000 pounds.
Manatees inhabit the shallow, marshy coastal areas of North, Central, and South America, and the Caribbean Sea.
Vulnerability
All three species of manatee are listed by the IUCN as Vulnerable to extinction. Although it does not have any natural predators, human expansion has reduced its natural habitat in the coastal marsh areas and many manatees are injured or killed by collisions with powerboats. Manatees occasionally ingest fishing gear (hooks, metal weights, etc.) during feeding. These foreign materials do not seem to harm manatees, except for monofilament line or string. This can get clogged in the animal's digestive system and slowly kill the animal. They can also be crushed in water control structures (navigation locks, flood gates, etc.), drown in pipes and culverts, and are occasionally killed from entanglement in fishing gear, primarily crab pot float lines.
On June 8, 2006, the manatee was removed from Florida's endangered species list, and now has a "threatened" status in that state. While none of the state laws protecting manatees have changed, many wildlife conservationists are not pleased with the removal decision at all.[link]. Manatees remain classified as "endangered" at the federal level.
Habitat
Manatees typically inhabit warm, shallow, coastal estuarine waters. Manatees often congregate near power plants, which warm the waters. Some have become reliant on this source of unnatural heat and have ceased migrating to warmer waters. Some power plants have recently been closing and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is trying to find a new way to heat the water for these manatees.
The northern most manatee population lives in the St. Lawrence River in NY State. A few individual animals have been known to travel to the eastern shores of Lake Ontario. This group of animals is close to extinction.
The main water treatment plant in Guyana has four manatees that keep storage canals clear of weeds.
Captivity
The currently oldest manatee in captivity is Snooty who is held at the South Florida Museum. He was born at the Miami Aquarium on July 21 1948 and came to the South Florida Museum in Bradenton, Florida in 1949, where he still lives.References
External links
- [Bagheera] An educational website of Earth's Endangered Animals.
http://www.geocities.com/philgarringer/Savethestlawrencemanatee.html A website dedicated to protecting the Northern Manatee
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