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Who are we?

Kiara: I am 8 years old and I'm a second grader. I was born in Mexico and my family and me moved to California a little over 4 years ago. I am very good at painting and I love to read. I first heard about the manatees on TV, while watching Discovery Kids. And did you know that the manatees have been around since dinosaur times. I hope you enjoy this blog and please let us know what you think and what YOU do to help prevent that these animals become extinct.

Shaped for the water

The dugong has a streamlined body, with paddle-like flippers instead of front legs. Its tail is fluked like a dolphin's, whereas a manatee's tail is more like that of a beaver. While sirenians usually conserve energy by moving slowly through the water, they are capable of swimming swiftly to escape danger.

What YOU can do to help the manatees!

1) Get together with some friends
2) Pick up all the garbage around your school, around your house and everywhere else (the rain will bring all the garbage to the rivers and then to the oceans, which will affect the manatees)
3) Avoid contaminating (recycle and don't litter)
4) Spread the word

Slow mothers

Sirenians have a very slow reproductive rate, which is a factor in their declining numbers. Females bear a single calf at a time, and wait at least 2 years and sometimes several before producing again. A calf nurses for up to 2 years, during which time it learns food sources and migration routes from its attentive mother.

Bristles Feeder

Like all sirenians, the Caribbean manatee swims slowly through the water, grazing on acuatic plants and seagrasses. It locates food with the aid of sensitive, bristle-like hairs on its snout, and uses its muscular lips to grasp plants and pass them to the mouth.