
The American manatee is a large, cylindrically shaped mammal; with forelimbs modified into flippers it uses the upper lip, together with its forelimbs, to manipulate food into its mouth and the rear of the body in the form of a flat rounded.
It has a big head, small eyes and it doesn’t have eye lid, in the back of the body it has a big tail with two parts or lobes.
The American manatee only eats vegetables like a sea plants and sea grass and it only lives fifty years.
It lives in tropical areas; it animal can be seen in rivers, lakes, bays with shallow waters and cool close to sea.
Commercial exploitation of the American manatee began in the 16th century, and, together with extensive subsistence hunting, has resulted in severely reduced populations in most areas, although nowadays the manatee is been protected by La Unión Internacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza (IUCN).
CAMILO DUSSAN VARGAS
