Manatee Appreciation Day 2020

Today is Manatee Appreciation Day – an opportunity to celebrate these incredible and unique creatures. Manatees fall into their own category of lovably funny-looking, docile and silly sea mammals. Don’t let their looks fool you, though -- manatees are also shockingly intelligent creatures!

These gentle giants are often spotted in coastal or river areas where there’s lots of seagrass or vegetation to enjoy. They migrate regularly depending upon the weather. 

First listed to the Endangered Species Act in 1967, their numbers have been steadily increasing. Manatee Appreciation Day is great reminder that manatees and their habitat need our support. 

The most significant challenge manatees face today is the loss of habitat

Some Manatee Facts:

• They are also called sea cows.
• Manatees are related to the elephant.
• Due to their immense size, (some weigh up to 1,200 pounds) they graze up to 8 hours a day.
• Manatees continually replace their teeth. A new set is always growing behind the current set of teeth. 
• Manatees can live up 60 years.
• Their lungs are two-thirds the length of their bodies.
• They can only breath through their nose. Their mouths are for grazing on their primary food source – sea grass.