Also called sea cows, manatees might not immediately resemble your average land-based bovine, but they do share a number of their characteristics.
They are bulky, generally peaceful creatures and spend a large proportion of their time grazing on plants; in fact, they’re the only marine mammal with an exclusively vegetarian diet.
Surprisingly graceful in the water, they use their powerful flippers and tails to navigate tropical coastal regions and river networks. Their average speed is just eight kilometers (five miles) per hour, but they are able to reach 24 kilometers (15 miles) per hour for short spurts.
Although they never venture onto land (like whales and dolphins they’re even born in the water) they’re actually more closely related to elephants than other water-based animals. They also need a ready supply of air; the longest they can go submerged is about 15 minutes.
Due to their slow movement and typical habitat coinciding with highly populated areas, manatees were extensively hunted in previous centuries. They remain vulnerable to extinction to this day because their tendency to swim near the surface means they often fall victim to motorboat propellers and fishing nets.
Related Posts
-
How Much Methane Do Cows Produce Every Day and Can Cows be Used as an Alternative Energy Source?
Cows naturally produce a gas called methane that can be burned by humans. Cows release methane as they chew, burp, and fart, but mostly when they burp. A herd of cows can produce…
-
How Do Large Marine Mammals Like Seals, Whales, and Manatees Sleep In the Water Without Drowning?
Some marine mammals sleep out of the water, and some may not sleep at all. The furred or hairy aquatic mammals in the pinniped suborder, seals, etc. have a variety of interesting adaptations…
-
Why Is the Ocean Salty and Where Did All the Salt In the Ocean Come From?
Rocks that erode on the continents contain salt, which is brought by the rivers to the ocean. In fact, fresh water rivers carry a certain amount of dissolved minerals. Most of it is…
-
Which River Flows From One Ocean to Another Ocean?
A tributary is a river or stream that flows into a larger river. One of the tributaries of the Amazon River is the Ucalayi, which joins the Amazon in Peru. One of the…
-
How Did Scientists On the Challenger Expedition Measure Ocean Depth and Gather Ocean Floor Samples?
Some of the instruments used by the scientists on the Challenger expedition were remarkably simple. Measuring the depth of water is called sounding. Their sounding device was simply a very long rope with…
-
Where Can You See the Sun Rise Above the Pacific Ocean and Set Over the Atlantic Ocean?
People in part of Panama can watch the sun rise over the Pacific and set over the Atlantic because of the curve of the isthmus. An isthmus is a narrow strip of land…
