West Indian Manatees

Description: West Indian manatees are large, gray aquatic mammalswith bodies that taper to a flat, paddle-shaped tail. They have twoforelimbs, called flippers, with three to four nails. Their head andface are wrinkled with whiskers on the snout. The manatee's closestland relatives are the elephant and the hyrax, a small, gopher-sizedmammal. Manatees are believed to have evolved from a wading, plant-eating animal. The West Indian manatee is related to the West Africanmanatee, the Amazonian manatee, the dugong, and to the Steller's seacow, which was hunted to extinction in 1768. The average adultmanatee is about three meters (9.8 feet) long and weighs between 362-544 kilograms (800-1,200 pounds).Habitat and Range: Manatees can be found in shallow, slow-movingrivers, estuaries, saltwater bays, canals and coastal areas. Manateesare a migratory species. Within the United States, West Indianmanatees are concentrated in Florida in the winter, but they can befound in summer months as far west as Texas and as far north asVirginia. However, these sightings are rare. Summer sightings inAlabama, Georgia and South Carolina are common. West Indian manateescan also be found in the coastal and inland waterways of CentralAmerica and along the northern coast of South America, althoughdistribution in these areas may be spotty.Behavior: Manatees are gentle and slow-moving. Most of their time isspent eating, resting, and in travel. Manatees are completelyherbivorous. They eat aquatic plants and can consume 10-15% of theirbody weight daily in vegetation. They graze for food along waterbottoms and on the surface. They may rest submerged at the bottom orjust below the surface, coming up to breathe on the average of everythree to five minutes. When manatees are using a great deal ofenergy, they may surface to breathe as often as every 30 seconds.When resting, manatees have been known to stay submerged for up to 20minutes.Lifespan, Mortality, Population: West Indian manatees have no naturalenemies, and it is believed they can live 60 years or more. Manymanatee mortalities are human-related. Most human-related manateemortalities occur from collisions with watercraft. Other causes ofhuman-related manatee mortalities include being crushed and/ordrowned in canal locks and flood control structures; ingestion offish hooks, litter and monofilament line; and entanglement in crabtrap lines. Ultimately, however, loss of habitat is the most seriousthreat facing manatees today. There are approximately 3,000 WestIndian manatees left in the United States.Breeding and Reproduction: The reproductive rate for manatees isslow. Female manatees are not sexually mature until about five yearsof age, and males are mature at approximately nine years of age. Onaverage, one calf is born every two to five years, and twins arerare. The gestation period is about a year. Mothers nurse their youngfor one to two years, so a calf may remain dependent on its motherduring that time.Legal Protection: West Indian manatees in the United States areprotected under federal law by the Marine Mammal Protection Act of1972 and the Endangered Species Act of 1973, which make it illegal toharass, hunt, capture, or kill any marine mammal. West Indianmanatees are also protected by the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act of1978 which states: "It is unlawful for any person, at any time,intentionally or negligently, to annoy, molest, harass, or disturbany manatee." Anyone convicted of violating Florida's state law facesa possible maximum fine of $500 and/or imprisonment for up to 60days. Conviction on the federal level is punishable by a fine of upto $100,000 and/or one year in prison.Conservation: The Florida Manatee Recovery Plan was developed as aresult of the Endangered Species Act. The recovery plan iscoordinated by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) and setsforth a list of tasks geared toward recovering manatees from theircurrent endangered status. Save the Manatee Club is part of theManatee Recovery Team, which carries out the tasks in the plan underthe auspices of the USFWS. In addition, SMC is part of the ManateeTechnical Advisory Council, which makes recommendations to governmentofficials on manatee protection issues.In October of 1989, Florida's Governor and Cabinet directed theFlorida Department of Environmental Protection to work with 13 "key"manatee counties in Florida to reduce injuries and deaths. These 13counties include: Duval, Volusia , Citrus, Brevard, Indian River, St.Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach, Broward, Dade, Collier, Lee and Sarasota.Over 80% of manatee mortalities have occurred in these counties. Thefirst task of these 13 county governments, working with the state, isto develop site specific boat speed zones to reduce watercraftcollisions. The second task is to develop comprehensive manateeprotection plans (MPP) at the local level. Twelve of the 13 keycounties have implemented boat speed zones for manatee protection.Several key counties are currently at work on their MPPs.Other conservation measures deemed important to saving manateesinclude: research covering the biology, mortality, population anddistribution, behavior, and habitat of manatees; implementation ofmanagement plans; posting of regulatory speed signs and levying offines for excess speeds in designated areas; manatee education andpublic awareness programs; and public acquisition of critical habitatand creation of sanctuaries.