Manatee
The manatee has some unique physical features that make it what it is. To start off, manatees have thick, wrinkled skin, which is brownish grayish in color, and they often have algae on it. Manatees are thought to see and hear quite well, despite their lack of outer ears and small eyes (“Basic Facts about Florida Manatees”). Something odd about manatees is that their known as sea cows because of its large stature, lazy nature, and its likelihood to get eaten by other animals. Though the name may be deceiving, manatees can swim very gracefully and quickly, and are actually more closely related to elephants rather than cows. These creatures are enormous in size. Their size usually vary from 440- 1,300 pounds and range in size from 8-13 feet. Manatees have an egg shaped head and have large, strong tails that power their swimming (Bradford). There are three species of manatee: the West Indian manatee, the amazonian manatee, and the African manatee.
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When manatees are sleeping, their heart rate and breathing rate slow down, allowing them to only need to come up to the surface for air every twenty minutes. Manatees spend about half their day sleeping (“Um, So Manatees”). Manatees typically live in seas, rivers, and oceans. Their names indicate where they live. For example, the West Indian Manatee lives in the southern and eastern United States, although a few manatees have been known to reach the Bahama’s. The Amazonian species of manatee swims along the Amazon River’s drainage from the headwaters in Columbia, Peru, and Ecuador to the mouth of the Amazon in Brazil. The African manatee inhabits the rivers and along the coast of western Africa