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More About Manatees and Dugongs ...
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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 is forked. It is an herbivore, spending most of its time grazing in shallow waters.
Manatees inhabit shallow, marshy coastal areas of North, Central, and South America, and the Caribbean Sea.
One species (Trichechus senegalensis) inhabits the west coast of Africa, another (T. inunguis) inhabits the east coast of South America, and a third (T. manatus) the West Indies. The Florida Manatee is by some considered a distinct species, but ITIS treats it as a subspecies of T. manatus, and this is now usual. It can reach 4.5 meters (15 feet) or more in length, and lives both in fresh and salt water. It was once hunted for its oil and flesh but is now legally protected.
The West Indian Manatee is an endangered species. 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 by the propellers of outboard motor boats. Manatees will often 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
Dugongs
The Dugong (Dugong dugon) is the smallest member of the order Sirenia (which also includes the manatees and Steller's Sea Cow). Adults are generally less than 3 meters long.
Although they once covered all of the tropical South Pacific and Indian Oceans, remaining populations are greatly reduced. Groups of 10,000 or more are present on the Great Barrier Reef of Australia, at Shark Bay, and in Torres Strait south of New Guinea. Before 1970, it is thought that large populations were also present in Mozambique and coastal Kenya, but these have dwindled. Palau also has a small population. On January 22, 2003, after 70 years, an individual was found (weight 300 kg, length 2 m) off the coast of Tanzania.
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Source: Wikipedia Read more about Manatees and Dugongs
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PICTURES (Click to enlarge)
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