Well my parents had a place near the marina in Braedenton Florida. They went to the beach daily to watch the manatee- I guess it might be in the same family as walrus or seals which are mostly large mammals just as the manatee is
2 Despite their other name, manatees are not related to cows. Instead, their closest living relative is another land animal: the elephant. Manatees and elephants evolved from the same ancestor over 50 million years ago.
Happened to me once in the Orange River in Ft Myers, FL-I held so still until he/she went behind me and tried to mount my kayak (it was gray, maybe confusing?!)
It was one of the few bright spots when we lived in Florida and would kayak around manatees. Everything else was ugly and getting uglier by the day. Our american fuhrer moving there only made it 1000% worse. His ugly troglodytes followed him there.
The sweetest of giants manatees are the real mermaids . We use to go to Port Everglades. By the power plant they'd gather and we'd toss lettuce in for them, gentle giants
So jelly. in the 80's a juvenile manatee came up to our boat deep in a creek and let us feed it lettuce and swim with it. It would kick its tail and you would be blown off the back like nothing , A never forget moment. The amount of people that have received a manatee hug has to miniscule
dugongs are not the same animal, they are in the same order (sirenia) which, as a whole, are nicknamed "sea cows" ! its very common for manatees and dugongs to be mixed up though
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It is such a shame that they have to live with Floridians!
2 Despite their other name, manatees are not related to cows. Instead, their closest living relative is another land animal: the elephant. Manatees and elephants evolved from the same ancestor over 50 million years ago.
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I am so jealous
I am in Australia and have never heard of a manatee!!