Florida Manatee Habitat

There are three areas in the world where manatee live the caribbean west africa and the amazon river.

Florida manatee habitat. The west indian manatee is the species found in the coastal and inland waterways of central america and along the northern coast of south america although distribution in these areas may be discontinuous. Manatees are herbivores feeding solely on seagrass algae and other vegetation in freshwater and estuarine systems in the southeastern united states. The florida manatee trichechus manatus latirostris which is also found seasonally in the waters of nearby states is one subspecies of the west indian manatee t. There are three species of manatee distinguished primarily by where they live.

You will find that many manatees migrate in the winter to the very warm waters along the coast of florida. Manatees are gentle and slow moving animals. Florida estuaries and freshwater lakes springs and rivers provide extensive beds of seagrass and abundant freshwater aquatic vegetation that provide the manatee s primary food sources. However manatees have been spotted as far offshore as the dry tortugas islands approximately 81 km 50 mi west of key west florida.

Historically manatees in florida relied on natural springs to stay warm during cold weather. Manatees inhabit rivers bays canals estuaries and coastal areas moving freely between fresh saline and brackish waters. The other subspecies lives in nearshore waters lagoons estuaries and rivers of eastern mexico down the central american coast and across northern south america. West african manatees live in quiet coastal areas large rivers lagoons and connected lakes where the water temperature is above 18 c 64 f.

The florida manatee a subspecies of the west indian manatee is a large slow moving marine mammal with an elongated round body and paddle shaped flippers and tail. Florida manatees have been known to migrate as far south as cuba. The main areas for them include florida africa and the amazon.