Animal of the week!
Hey all and welcome again to Cherry's 12th edition of
"Animal of the week". This time I picked this unique marine mammal.
Here again are a few breif facts on this week's animal.
This week's animal...The Manatee
The manatee
is a slow-moving, seal-shaped mammal that lives in shallow coastal
waters or rivers with rich plant growths.
Adults may grow to lengths of 15 feet (4.6 meters).
They are
stout, thick-skinned, and almost hairless with a broad, shovellike
tail. They have only one pair of limbs weak front flippers which they
use to push algae, such as seaweed and other water plants toward
their mouths.
Manatees frequently
communicate by muzzle-to-muzzle contact and, when alarmed, emit chirpy
squeaks.
All three species the Caribbean, Amazonian, and African
manatees are declining in population because they have been heavily
hunted. Since they are slow moving there is also a danger for them
from speeding motor boats which when run over can be injured badly or
killed.
The manatees also have been killed by pollution from humans.
Manatees make up the family Trichechidae of the order Sirenia.
The scientific name of the Caribbean manatee is Trichechus manatus;
of the Amazonian, T. inunguis; and of the African, T. senegalensis.
from Compton's Concise Encyclopedia
Copyright (c) 1995 Compton's NewMedia, Inc.
