Shallow Seashore: West Indian Manatee

A West Indian Manatee and her calf, swimming in the warm waters around Florida. Manatees live in warm areas around Florida, in the Caribbean, and around South America. Manatees are gentle, slow-moving marine mammals that feed on vegetation. Most adult manatees are about 10 feet long and weight 800 to 1,200 pounds. Some can get larger than 12 feet long and weigh as much as 3,500 pounds. Because it moves slowly and favors warm waters, manatees are in danger of collisions with motor boats.

credit: Galen Rathbun, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service