Marine Mammal
West African Manatee
Scientific Name
Trichechus senegalensis
Diet
Herbivore: seagrasses, algae, water hyacinth, other freshwater aquatic plants
Length
Between 9 to 15 feet | 3 to 4.5 meters
Weight
440 to 1350 lb | 200 to 600 kg
Location
Coastal areas+ freshwaters of Western Africa
Habitat
Mangroves, Flood Plains, Estuaries and Rivers
9 MUST KNOW FACTS
About the Florida manatee
1
Only species to live in Western Africa
2
Have been known to eat clams and fish
3
They are vulnerable to extinction
4
They move between resting and feeding grounds
5
Nocturnal feeders (Eats at night)
6
Have 3-4 vestigial nails on their flippers
7
Associated with African water spirit “Mami Wata”
8
2nd largest species of manatee
9
Seen in Senegal, Nigeria and Mali
Dangers + Threats
Habitats + food sources destroyed
Poaching + hunting
Accidental entanglement
Coastal development
Loss of shallow coastal habitat
Water pollution
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Vocabulary
Stuck on a word? Have a look below.
Aquatic living or found in water
Ballast weight that helps keep something stable and balanced.
Bouyancy the ability to float or stay at a certain depth in water.
Estuary where a river meets the sea, mixing fresh and salt water.
Lagoon a shallow stretch of water separated from the sea by a sandbank or reef.
Herbivore an animal that only eats plants.
Nictitating lens a transparent eyelid that protects the eye underwater.
Marine mammal a warm-blooded animal that lives in or around the sea and breathes air.
Migrate to travel from one place to another with the seasons.
Prehensile able to grip and hold, like fingers
Seagrass meadow underwater fields of grass-like plants that grow in shallow coastal waters.
Sirenia the scientific order that manatees and dugongs belong to.
Subspecies a smaller group within a species that shares specific characteristics.
Reniculate Kidney instead of one kidney, manatees have kidneys made up of lots of tiny individual kidneys all bundled together, each one doing its own job
Vibrissae are tiny hair sensors that pick up movement and vibrations covering the manatees body and mouth.
Vestigial a leftover body part no longer needed after millions of years of evolution.