|
The West Indian Manatee is one of the gentlest and most peaceful creatures on earth. They have survived almost 50 million years without aggressive behavior. The manatee, whose closest relative is the elephant, defied evolutionary trends by crawling back into the sea. The manatee is a herbivore, and the three other surviving members of the manatee species: the Amazonian manatee of South America, the West African Manatee, and the dugong of Australia and the Indian Ocean are the only herbivorous marine mammals alive today.
These sea cows spend their days slowly moving about their river and ocean ranges eating sea grasses, water hyacinth and hydrilla, - about 80 to 150 pounds of greens a day.
They spend a lot of time resting at the surface of the water, and manatees suffer fatal injuries when run over by motorboats. Almost all surviving manatees in Florida today bear propeller scars on their backs.
Manatees are sighted singly, and in pods, traversing the warm gulf water off South Walton as they travel from one range to another. These slow-moving gentle sea cows must be given a wide respectful berth so they are not injured by motorcraft. |
