Manatees are herbivores and eat over 60 different freshwater and saltwater plants.
The main causes of death for manatees are human-related issues, such as habitat destruction and human objects.
Their slow-moving, curious nature has led to violent collisions with propeller-driven boats and ships. Some manatees have been found with over 50 scars on them from propeller blades. Natural causes of death include adverse temperatures, predation by crocodiles on young, and disease.
Apart from mothers with their young, or males following a receptive female, manatees are generally solitary animals.
Manatees spend approximately 50% of the day sleeping submerged, surfacing for air regularly at intervals of less than 20 minutes.
The remainder of the time is mostly spent grazing in shallow waters at depths of 1–2 m (3 ft 3 in–6 ft 7 in). The Florida subspecies (T. m. latirostris) has been known to live up to 60 years.
DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times A tour boat floats nearby as a manatee swims up to the underwater observatory at Three Sisters Springs last week on Kings Bay in Crystal River in Citrus County.
It is a unique, Florida experience: Visitors to Three Sisters Springs in Citrus County are nearly guaranteed in the winter months to see crowds of manatees and even have a chance to swim or paddle alongside…
November marks #ManateeAwarenessMonth! West Indian Manatees (Trichechus manatus) live in shallow coastal areas where they feast on aquatic plants. Known by the nickname “sea cows”, they can graze for more than 5 hours a day. This photograph comes from ECOfronteras, Vol. 11, No. 30 (April 2007), a research magazine published by El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (@ecosurmx), a public research center attached to the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT) of #Mexico. ECOSUR has contributed volumes from 2006 to 2017 of ECOfronteras to #BiodiversityHeritageLibrary as part of our ongoing mission to promote #OpenAccess! View this illustration and more: https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/53434366 _________________________________________________ #Manatees #WestIndianManatees #Manatee #ManateeMonth #MammalMonday #BHLib #Biodiversity #NaturalHistory #NatHist #ScientificIllustration #ScientificArt #Libraries #Archives #SpecialCollections #LibrariesofInstagram #IGLibraries #IG_Libraries #ECOSUR #BHLMexico
