• The manatee (Trichechus manatus) is a marine mammal native to tropical wetlands of the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, the southern Atlantic coast of the United States, and northern South America.
  • Manatees are mostly herbivores, although they have been known to eat fish and small crustaceans.
  • Some scientists say that a manatee's whiskers, or vibrissae, are as sensitive as human fingertips. Vibrissae help manatees navigate the muddy wetlands where they live.
  • Manatees are about 1.2 meters (4 feet) long and weigh about 27 kilograms (60 pounds) at birth, and can grow to be 4 meters (13 feet) long and weigh more than 1,360 kilograms (3,000 pounds).
  • One of the manatee's closest terrestrial (land-loving) relatives is the elephant. They both have tough skin, bristly body hair, flat teeth that are continually being replaced, and "toenails" on each forelimb.
  • Female manatees often grow larger than males. Their greater size helps them support manatee calves.
herbivore
Noun

organism that eats mainly plants and other producers.
manatee
Noun

threatened marine mammal native to the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean.
vibrissae
Plural Noun

whiskers.
wetland
Noun

area of land covered by shallow water or saturated by water.

Websites

  • Credits

    Media Credits

    The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited.

    Writer

    Caryl-Sue, National Geographic Society

    Editor

    Jeannie Evers, Emdash Editing

    Producer

    Caryl-Sue, National Geographic Society

    Last Updated

    March 26, 2012

  • User Permissions

    For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. If you have questions about licensing content on this page, please contact ngimagecollection@natgeo.com for more information and to obtain a license. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. She or he will best know the preferred format. When you reach out to him or her, you will need the page title, URL, and the date you accessed the resource.

    Media

    If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer. If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media.

    Text

    Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service.

    Interactives

    Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. You cannot download interactives.