One of the 4 manatees on WAnimals
Mammals · Sirenia · Trichechidae
Florida Manatee
Trichechus manatus latirostris
It faces a high risk of extinction in the wild over the medium term. See full glossary
The Florida manatee is the subspecies of the West Indian manatee that lives in the south-eastern United States. It is a herbivorous sirenian that can eat around 10% of its body weight in aquatic plants each day, mainly seagrasses. It lacks sufficient insulating fat, so it cannot tolerate water below around 20 degrees and in winter it gathers at warm springs and at power station outflows. Its main threats are boat strikes and the loss of seagrass meadows.
Weight
200 kg – 600 kg
Size
2.5 m – 4 m
Lifespan
40 years
Diet
Herbivore
Feeds mainly on plants.
Activity
Irregular activity
Active at irregular times, by day or night depending on circumstances.
Social structure
Solitary
Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.
Sighting difficulty
Moderate
Fun facts
- Its molars are replaced continuously throughout life: new teeth erupt at the back and move forward, replacing those worn down by the sand on the seagrass.
- Snooty, born in 1948, was the longest-lived manatee ever documented and reached 69 years.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)
- Habitat & environment
- Shallow coastal waters, estuaries, canals and warm springs of Florida
- Sexual maturity
- 5 years
- Gestation / incubation
- 13 months
- Litter / clutch size
- 1
- Lifespan in captivity
- A documented record of 69 years (Snooty the manatee, 1948-2017, in Bradenton, Florida)
Sources consulted: https://www.iucnredlist.org/ | https://animaldiversity.org/ | https://es.wikipedia.org/
Where to watch it
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Florida Manatee — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Diamondback Terrapin
Malaclemys terrapin
EndangeredGreen Turtle
Chelonia mydas
Alligator Snapping Turtle
Macrochelys temminckii
Near ThreatenedBull Shark
Carcharhinus leucas
Least ConcernNorth American River Otter
Lontra canadensis
VulnerableLemon Shark
Negaprion brevirostris
How to help
The florida manatee is classified as vulnerable. Organizations such as UICN, WWF y Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programs is a good starting point if you want to get involved.
It's documented in 3 real protected areas — part of why protecting these places matters for its conservation.
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about florida manatee.
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