Manatee Facts – Recap (Part 5)

Florida manatees enjoying the warm 72 degrees Fahrenheit crystal clear water in January at Blue Spring State Park. Photo: Robert Scott Thayer

Greetings to you! Here’s a continuation of my blog on manatee facts. I’m now up to (Part 5). In this installment, you’ll find some of the awesome manatee facts I’ve presented over these last few years!

Here are some really cool and interesting facts you probably didn’t know about us manatees…

The age of a manatee is determined by yearly growth rings in its ear bones. – Just like you count the rings across the diameter of a tree back to get its age, you also count the growth rings in a manatee’s ear bone to get its age!
A manatee doesn’t have a daily routine, which it stays with or follows. – We manatees just take it one day at a time! Easy like Sunday morning.We can actually feed, rest, or travel at any time of the day. Be it dark at night or light in the day!
When looking at all the mammals in the world, it is only manatees and sloths that have six cervical (neck) vertebrae. – That’s right! Humans and even giraffes have seven cervical vertebrae.
A manatee cannot turn its head sideways. As a result, it must turn its whole body around!
Manatees are smart and seem to know when cold weather is coming in, so they’ll seek out warmer water locations. – Scientists still don’t know what cues manatees follow, which results in this very interesting weather-related behavior!
Did you know water conducts heat away from the body of a mammal up to 25 times faster than air does? – It’s true! No wonder us warm-blooded manatees scramble to warmer water areas once cold weather is on its way!
Manatees do not have eyelashes!
Newborn manatee calves can swim to the surface without assistance and they can also vocalize at birth!
Did you know that a manatee can move one side of its lip pads independently of the other side?
When a manatee stretches, it most likely will let out a big groan!

Stay tuned for moremanatee facts coming up in a future blog!

If you are in Florida and you see a sick or injured manatee, please call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at: 1-888-404-FWCC. They are the folks who are responsible for rescuing us in Florida.

Here’s the Save the Manatee Club link to learn more about us manatees …

www.savethemanatee.org

Here’s a cool link for you to learn more about how we’re rescued and brought into rehabilitation …

www.wildtracks.org

~ Kobee Manatee

Manatee Facts – Recap (Part 2) April 11, 2018

Manatee Facts – Recap (Part 3) April 24, 2018

Manatee Facts – Recap (Part 4) May 1, 2018