West Indian Manatee

The West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus) is a large, slow-moving aquatic mammal found across the coastal waters, rivers, and estuaries of the Caribbean Basin and the southeastern United States. Adults typically reach between 2.7 and 3.5 meters in length and weigh between 400 and 550 kilograms, though individuals can exceed 600 kilograms. They are strict herbivores, grazing on seagrasses and freshwater vegetation for several hours each day, which makes them functional analogues to marine and riverine grazers in ecosystems where large terrestrial herbivores are absent.

The species is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, a status that reflects both documented population recovery in some areas and persistent, serious threats across much of its range. In Florida, boat strike injuries are a leading cause of adult mortality, and the scarring patterns left by propellers are so distinctive that researchers use them to identify individual animals. Habitat loss through coastal development, red tide events intensified by agricultural runoff, and cold stress mortality during unusually low winter temperatures all compound the pressure on populations that reproduce slowly, with females typically giving birth to a single calf every two to five years.