West+Indian+Manatee

// Trichechus manatus  // Imagine you’re swimming off the coast of Florida and you see this big gray blob. You swim closer and see it’s a manatee! So come along and take a swim side by side with the incredible endangered manatee. Did you know that manatees have been protected for 37 years by the mammal protection act of 1972. Well these amazing creatures’ numbers have been declining…quickly. Manatees are mammals for many reasons. One is that they give birth to live offspring that weigh between 60-70 pounds and measure to 3-4 feet. They are also warm blooded so they can go to deep depths underwater. They communicate by squealing underwater to demonstrate fear, stress, or excitement. Their scientific name is //Trichechus manatus// which means West Indian Manatee. The West Indian Manatee is a large aquatic relative to the elephant. They are brownish gray and have thick wrinkled skin. They also have flat tails to help propel them through the water. These flat tails are very powerful. The manatee has small eyes and no outer ears, but it is said that they can see and hear very well. Manatees have very large lungs. In fact their lungs take up 2/3 of their body. They are herbivores, meaning that they only eat plants. The largest numbers of manatees are found in Florida, there are only 3,000 left. By: Chris, Francesca, and Peter Period: 8