PRESENTATION OUTLINE
When a West Indian manatee is born it can be 4 feet long but can eventually get up to 13 feet long. Manatees can be around 70 pounds when born and around 1,000 as an adult. An manatee’s average age or life span is 30 years. Manatees are hairy gray, black, or a light brown color with bear whiskers and paddle shaped tails. A manatee also has wrinkly skin
The West Indian manatee lives in rivers, bays, canals, and estuaries on coasts of north and South America. The West Indian manatee can survive in both fresh and salt water but prefer fresh. If the water is more than 68 degrees f(20 degrees c)it will move. This kind of manatee as no spastic home because they move around the ocean.
A manatee eats 1 pound of food for every 10 pounds it weighs or 4-9 percent of its body weight. It eats all plants. Cordgrass, turtle grass, eel grass, non native water hyacinth and hydilla.
