Manatee: Difference between revisions
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== Captivity == |
== Captivity == |
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The currently oldest manatee in captivity is Snooty who is held at the [[South Florida Museum]]. He was born at the Miami Seaquarium on [[July 21]] [[1948]] and came to the South Florida Museum in [[Bradenton, Florida]] in 1949, where he still lives. |
The currently oldest manatee in captivity is Snooty who is held at the [[South Florida Museum]]. He was born at the Miami Seaquarium on [[July 21]] [[1948]] and came to the South Florida Museum in [[Bradenton, Florida]] in 1949, where he still lives. |
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==Manatees in Popular Culture== |
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*It is fairly common to insult an obese person by calling them a "manatee," citing manatees' slow movement, tendency to eat most of the day, and round bodies. |
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*Manatees were featured on the [[Cartoon Wars]] episode of the popular tv show [[South Park]], as the creative force behind the television show [[Family Guy]]. The manatees were shown to be living in a tank at Fox Studios which was filled with "idea balls." The manatees randomly selected the idea balls to make the jokes for the show. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 22:34, 29 July 2006
| Manatee | |
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| Manatee with calf. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
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| Order: | |
| Family: | Trichechidae Gill, 1872
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| Genus: | Trichechus Linnaeus, 1758
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| Species | |
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Trichechus inunguis | |
Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus Trichechus) are large aquatic mammals sometimes known as sea cows. The Trichechidae differ from the Dugongidae in the shape of the skull and the shape of the tail. Manatees' tails are paddle-shaped, while the Dugong's are forked. They are herbivores, spending most of their time grazing in shallow waters, and can weigh anywhere from 500 to 1000 kg.
Manatees inhabit the shallow, marshy coastal areas of North, Central, and South America, and the Caribbean Sea. They spend half of their day sleeping in the water, surfacing for air every 20 minutes.
Vulnerability
All three species of manatee are listed by the IUCN as Vulnerable to extinction. Although it does not have any natural predators, human expansion has reduced its natural habitat in the coastal marsh areas and many manatees are injured or killed by collisions with powerboats. Manatees occasionally ingest fishing gear (hooks, metal weights, etc.) during feeding. These foreign materials do not seem to harm manatees, except for monofilament line or string. This can get clogged in the animal's digestive system and slowly kill the animal. They can also be crushed in water control structures (navigation locks, flood gates, etc.), drown in pipes and culverts, and are occasionally killed from entanglement in fishing gear, primarily crab pot float lines. Manatees have been a staple diet to many people in the Caribbean. [1] Commercial meat farming was suggested to support the preservation of the species.
On June 8 2006, the manatee was removed from Florida's endangered species list, and now has a "threatened" status in that state. While none of the state laws protecting manatees have changed, many wildlife conservationists are not pleased with the removal decision.[2]. Manatees remain classified as "endangered" at the federal level.
Habitat
Manatees typically inhabit warm, shallow, coastal estuarine waters. Manatees often congregate near power plants, which warm the waters. Some have become reliant on this source of unnatural heat and have ceased migrating to warmer waters. Some power plants have recently been closing and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is trying to find a new way to heat the water for these manatees.
The northern most manatee population lives in the St. Lawrence River in NY State. A few individual animals have been known to travel to the eastern shores of Lake Ontario. This group of animals is close to extinction.
The main water treatment plant in Guyana has four manatees that keep storage canals clear of weeds.
Diet
Florida manatees eat over 60 different plant species such as mangrove leaves, turtle grass, and types of algae, using their divided upper lip, feeding over 100 pounds per day. Antillean manatees were known to eat fish from nets.
Captivity
The currently oldest manatee in captivity is Snooty who is held at the South Florida Museum. He was born at the Miami Seaquarium on July 21 1948 and came to the South Florida Museum in Bradenton, Florida in 1949, where he still lives.
Manatees in Popular Culture
- It is fairly common to insult an obese person by calling them a "manatee," citing manatees' slow movement, tendency to eat most of the day, and round bodies.
- Manatees were featured on the Cartoon Wars episode of the popular tv show South Park, as the creative force behind the television show Family Guy. The manatees were shown to be living in a tank at Fox Studios which was filled with "idea balls." The manatees randomly selected the idea balls to make the jokes for the show.
References
- Shoshani, J. (2005). Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 93. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
External links
- Bagheera An educational website of Earth's endangered animals
- http://www.geocities.com/philgarringer/St_Lawrence_manatee.html A website dedicated to protecting the Northern Manatee