I'm partial to the manatee,
which emanates no vanity.
It swims amidst anemones
and hasn't any enemies.
~Jack Prelutsky


Manatees are kind, gentle mammals. They care for the waters and try to keep them clean. If a manatee is healthy, has a good supply of food, water and especially if he is not disturbed by unthoughtful humans, a manatee can live up to 50 years of age or more.



Manatees have a tubular shaped body and short flippers with fingernails on the tips. All manatees, except the Amazonian, have fingernails. The manatee gets slimmer the farther down the tail you go and ends into a broad circular shaped tail. The Dugong Manatee has a tail like that of a Dolphin. The manatee's face looks like it is in the body for he has no neck; the only part that is sticking out is the nose and mouth. The manatee has no front teeth, only a flat grinder. The lips on a manatee are two independent muscles. The mandibles are like the fingers of a manatee. A manatee has short bristly hairs on its mandibles to feel around.



A manatee does not have a natural enemy though sharks may attack. A manatee's real enemies are boat propellers, Locking Ports and trash. Manatee researchers have made propeller guards and lasers that will detect a manatee and stop the closing door for a few seconds, then begin to close again giving the manatee time to leave. If people start to help clean polluted waters, go slower in fast motorboats, or get propeller guards, and continue to invent items to help lower the deaths of manatees, they may become a Threatened, rather than an Endangered Species.