Andy Fox, age 12, of Buffalo Grove, I11., for his question:
WHAT IS A MANATEE?
Stories about mermaids may have started many years ago when sailors first saw plant eating sea mammals called the dugongs. The creatures, that grew to be about 10 feet long and weighed about 650 pounds, had whalelike bodies and a notched tail. They were found in the shallow, warm coastal waters of the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. The dugong is a cousin to the manatee.
The manatee is a large water mammal that is sometimes called the Sea Cow.
There are three species of manatees: the West Indian manatee, the African manatee and the Amazon manatee.
The West Indian manatee can be found along the northeastern coast of South America and also in the coastal waters of the Southeastern United States. If you know where to look, you can find the large mammals in some of the bays and rivers of Florida.
The Amazon manatee lives in the Amazon and Orinoco river systems while the African type can be found in the rivers and coastal waters of western Africa.
The West Indian manatee has been heavily hunted for its flesh, hide and oil and it, along with the Amazon species, is now classified as endangered.
The Manatee feeds on water plants in either fresh or salt water. Its upper lip is divided into halves which close like pliers on the plants. A manatee can eat more than 100 pounds of water plants a day.
The manatee is larger than its cousin, the dugong. It can grow to be 15 feet long and can weigh about 1,500 pounds.
With the help of their flippers, the manatees push food to their mouths as they eat. They browse like cows in water meadows and often are seen in small herds.
A mother manatee will usually have only one calf although sometimes she has twins. To nurse the young, the mother rises to the surface of the water, and with her head and shoulders out of the water, she clasps the youngster to her breast with her flippers.
Scientists have given the manatee and his fork tailed salt water cousin, the dugong, the family name of Sirenidae.
A manatee has thick skin and is hairless except for whiskers on the upper lip. Like whales, the manatees are land mammals that took to the water long centuries ago. They have light to dark gray skin.
In Guyana, in South America, manatees have been used to keep waterways free of weeds. They have excellent appetites.