I am excited to see all the manatees. They are called sea cows because of their massive size and are vegetarians. They have whiskers and their closest relative is the elephant.
They are endangered now with only about 4,500 left. Humans pose little threat to manatees but the loss of habitat has taken it toll on the species. They are underwater mammals.
Courtney, we should be seeing these in Panama. They are awesome!
Manatees are water dwelling mammals. They cannot survive in waters below 60 degrees Fahrenheit; therefore you will only find them in the warmer climate areas. They normally migrate to the waters near Florida in the winter, but researchers have recently discovered that they also live in waters near power plants because of the warm water radiated from the plant sites. This sadly, can kill the manatees because of the rapid change in water temperature. Researchers now know to move manatees away form an area when a power plant is shutting down. Manatees can live either solo or in groups and communicate using a chirping sound.
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