Manatees Essay Example For Students

Manatees Essay Quietly, but swiftly, the plump, dark animal glided across the waterwhile making sounds comparable to that of the squeaks and squeals of a whale(Florida Manatee 1). Some would say these aquatic mammals are the ugliestthing below the surface, others would say that these animals are beautiful andresemble portly mermaids, but no matter what anybody says about the manatees,they are unique creatures (Ray and Ciampi 315). They are mammals that arecompletely harmless, they feed mostly on sea grass and sometimes smallunderwater creatures like shrimp (Berrill 212). It is a shame for thesecreatures to be on the endangered species list. Looking at the physical aspect, these animals are incredibly uncommon,and like no other creature on earth. These majestic beasts can float across thewater amazingly fast for its size (Florida Manatee 1). They can weigh up to aton, and get as long as fifteen feet. They are almost devoid of hair, except forsome whiskers on their face, and they have internal ears on the sides of theirhead. Their nostrils are closed by valves, so they can accomplish such feats asflips and quick turns without losing any air. Manatees have no hind legs, butinstead one big, flat, spatula-like tail (Sentman 327). This feature made peopleconfuse manatees with mermaids for nearly four centuries (OShea 66). Many biologists say that manatees possibly originated or evolved fromungulates such as elephants and cows because of the way that they are built, andcertain features that they have in common. Like elephants, manatees have thepeculiar half-moon shaped fingernails, and thick, wrinkled skin. Manatees alsoshares some traits with cows. The way the manatees spend all day lazily grazingon the ocean floor is incredibly similar to the behavior of cows at a pasture(Breeden 58). Manatees eat an outrageous amount of food, they consume approximatelyten percent of their body weight daily. The large quantities that the manateeseat is another one of its unique qualities (Florida Manatee 1). People use themanatees as natural underwater lawn mowers, setting them free in lakes thathave too much sea grass or plants. The manatees consequently eat up thevegetation, which frees up space to allow other wildlife to inhabit the lake. Manatees are also used to clear up canals and irrigation rivers that are cloggedwith an extreme amount of aquatic plants (Manatee Facts 1). The large diet canalso be a disadvantage. With the amount of vegetation in manatee habitatsdecreasing tremendously, the manatees are in danger of starving to extinction. The underwater plants do not survive because of mans harmful deeds such aspollution, erosion caused by deforestation, and draining wetlands for thebuilding of coastal homes. Since the 1970s, in Tampa Bay alone, eighty percentof sea-grass beds have vanished due to these causes (OShea 68). Manatees can also be silly and clumsy at times, they have very badeyesight and do not have the attribute of sonar or echo location that someunderwater mammals have. This causes them to occasionally bump into largeunderwater rocks and other submerged objects. The poor navigational abilities ofthe manatee is an obvious disadvantage. A fast oncoming boat may not be seen bya manatee until it is too late (Manatee Facts 1). Manatees are mainly solitary animals, they graze alone and do not travelin groups. Although sometimes, manatees may be seen in temporary groups in whichthey will socialize, and leave at anytime. They communicate mostly using faintwhistles and squeaks, but some biologists speculate that they use scent marks tomark their location like some land mammals. Newborn manatees will also stay withtheir mother for at least a year, and will recognize her for the rest of itslife. If needed, nursing females will adopt a manatee calf that is not its own(OShea 70). This type of social behavior shows that manatees are extremelypeaceful, and very friendly. The Jataka EssayNot considering humans, manatees have almost no natural predators, butsometimes manatees may be killed by what they eat. Manatees consume a wide rangeof aquatic plants, including algae, which may contain brevetoxin. Brevetoxin isa bacteria that kills many aquatic animals including fish, and apparentlymanatees. Brevetoxin is usually found in a type of reddish-brown algae calledthe red tide. Last July, the bacteria alone killed 304 manatees creating a newofficial record for most manatees killed in a year (Toxin Killed Manatees A18). Aside from Brevetoxin, the manatees only natural predator is its unawareness,they sometimes drift too far north, and get killed by the cold sea water. Thisis a problem that whales and other large sea mammals also have to face. (OShea68)Having been studied seriously only since the mid 1900s, manatees are afairly new creature in the science community. This is probably because thatmanatees are very timid creatures which makes them hard to analyze. Still, notmuch is known about the manatees to this present day. We do not know basicfundamental facts such as where they go in the warmer climates, exactly how longthey live, and most importantly, precisely how many manatees are in existencetoday (Breeden 58). The lack of knowledge does not mean that steps are not beingtaken to study these animals. Recently, researchers attached satellitetransmitters to the manatee so that scientists can study their movement, andspeed. They have learned many new things from this study, such as that they cantra vel up to fifty kilometers a day, and go back to a designated location everyseason. Further developments in manatee research will help in preventing theaccidental death of many of these animals. The research that scientists havelearned from the transmitters will help in regulating boat speeds in certainareas to avoid the propeller deaths of many manatees, thus decreasing the deathtoll. The research will also designate specialized places to guard manatees,these areas will be watched very carefully by the US Fish and Wildlife Service(OShea 71). Scientists have no clue as to the manatee population before thecommercialized hunting of the 1900s, therefore, people do not know how large animpact man has made on the manatees. Even without the statistics, or the exactnumbers of manatees killed by humans in the past, we still know that man hascaused most of these deaths (Breeden 58). Whether it be by hunting, oraccidental incidents, man is the manatees worst enemy. To the average person,manatees may not seem important but they are essential to many living things,including humans. Manatees have ch Category: Social Issues