ARIEL'S PAGE Manatees Don't Say Goodbye Ariel Water Wide This is my adopted Manatee. Ariel lives in Homosassa Springs, Florida. She was given to me as a gift on Mother's Day. (read) Ariel's Biography If you would like to help by adopting your own Manatee, click on the link below Save The Manatee Save the Manatee Club 500 N. Maitland Ave. Maitland, FL 32751 Call 1-800-432-JOIN Visit Seaworld Orlando, Florida Learn how the Manatees are rescued and cared for at Seaworld Other places to see Manatees in captivity Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park Homosassa Springs, Florida (352) 628-2311 ______________ The Living Seas at Epcot / Walt Disney World Orlando, Florida (407) 824-4321 ______________ Miami Seaquarium Miami, Florida (305) 361-5705 ______________ Lowry Park Zoo Tampa, Florida (813) 935-8552 ______________ Lee County Manatee Park Ft. Myers, Florida (941) 694-3537 ______________ Florida Power and Light Co., Manatee Observation Center Riviera Beach, Florida (800) 552-8440 The Manatee (Information from Brittanica) (genus Trichechus), any of the three species of large aquatic mammals that constitute the family Trichechidae (order Sirenia). The manatee has a stout, tapered body ending in a rounded flipper; the forelimbs are flippers close to the head; there are no hind limbs. The head is rather small, with a square, bristly snout. Adults range in length from 2.5 to 4.5 m (8 to 15 feet) and may reach nearly 700 kg (1,500 pounds) in weight. Manatees are slow-moving creatures that feed on aquatic vegetation in shallow coastal waters, estuaries, and slow-flowing rivers. They live singly or in small family groups, sometimes forming herds of 15 to 20 individuals. Members of a group frequently communicate by muzzle-to-muzzle contact and, when alarmed, by chirplike squeaking. The sense of sight is very poorly developed. All three species are declining in population. The Caribbean manatee (T. manatus; see photograph) is found in Florida and sparsely along the Atlantic coast of the southeastern United States and the Gulf and Caribbean coasts to northern South America. The Amazonian manatee (T. inunguis), which inhabits rivers of the Amazon and Orinoco drainages, is listed in the Red Data Book as an endangered species. The West African manatee (T. senegalensis) is found in rivers in tropical West Africa. Adult manatees have no natural enemies but in some areas are heavily hunted for meat, hides, and oil. Where boat traffic is heavy, manatees are often injured or killed by boat propellers. They are often protected by law because of their usefulness in keeping waterways clear of aquatic vegetation. The manatee or its relative, the dugong, may have given rise to the folklore of mermaids. Let me introduce you to Monty. Monty is my 5 foot Manatee statue. He holds a light globe, which lights the path for visitors to my front door. You can help by lighting a path for them too! Please adopt a Manatee. Don't Say Goodbye "For in the end we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught." B. Dioum   This page last updated on 01/21/09 copyright© 1999 - 2009 by Misty Visions Realized All rights reserved Back to Misty Visions