Manatees are gentle and slow moving mammals. They are wonderful, caring parents to their young. And they are in danger.Twenty five percent of all manatee fatalities are related to boat encounters. Since manatees stay close to the surface where they must breathe, boat propellers harm them regularly.
Save the Manatee Club does amazing work in aid of these animals. Take a look at their homepage, and support this worthwhile cause.
The closest relatives of the manatee are the elephant and hyrax. Manatees can be found in shallow, slow-moving rivers, estuaries, saltwater bays, canals, and coastal areas — particularly where sea grass beds or freshwater vegetation flourish. Manatees are a migratory species. Within the United States, they are concentrated in Florida in the winter.
Many of the Florida manatees make their home in the waters around Homosassa, which is about forty five minutes north of Tampa.
Oh, I'd love to meet a manatee! The video leaves me with lots of questions. How do they communicate? Can people learn to communicate with them? What would happen if a manatee met an elephant?
ReplyDeleteNo I have to go look up a hyrax. Thank you. That was fun.
ReplyDeleteI looked up Hyrax
ReplyDeletehttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/280175/hyrax
That is weird that three such very different species should be related. Learn something new every day.
Thanks
I used to see them all the time when I lived by the ocean. Thanks for sparking the memories.
ReplyDeleteAday