Manatees
Manatees are gentle marine mammals that live in coastal waters and rivers around the Atlantic side of North, Central and South America, the Caribbean, the Amazon and parts of the Atlantic coast of Central Africa. They are also known as Sea Cows and in the early days of European exploration of the Caribbean some sailors believed their song to be that of mermaids. They are related to the Indian Ocean’s Dugong.
Manatees spend their whole lives under water. They surface to breathe every 4 or 5 minutes and the tips of their nose and nostrils is often the only part of the animal visible above the surface of the water. The young are born underwater and their mothers help them to the surface for their first breath, though infants can normally swim within one hour of birth.
Manatees weigh from 200-600kgs and measure up to four meters (13ft). Though they are grazers (eating sea grass and weeds) they can eat up to one-tenth their own body weight in a single day.
Over the decades manatees have suffered intense hunting. Though they are protected today they still suffer from habitat loss and often get hit by boat propellers and get entangled in fishing nets. They are officially considered endangered.