Florida Manatee Habitat

The west indian manatee is the species found in the coastal and inland waterways of central america and along the northern coast of south america although distribution in these areas may be discontinuous.

Florida manatee habitat. The florida manatee trichechus manatus latirostris which is also found seasonally in the waters of nearby states is one subspecies of the west indian manatee t. Florida estuaries and freshwater lakes springs and rivers provide extensive beds of seagrass and abundant freshwater aquatic vegetation that provide the manatee s primary food sources. The florida manatee a subspecies of the west indian manatee is a large slow moving marine mammal with an elongated round body and paddle shaped flippers and tail. Manatees are gentle and slow moving animals.

There are three areas in the world where manatee live the caribbean west africa and the amazon river. The main areas for them include florida africa and the amazon. The west indian manatee ranges along the north american east coast from florida to brazil. Historically manatees in florida relied on natural springs to stay warm during cold weather.

You will find that many manatees migrate in the winter to the very warm waters along the coast of florida. Manatees inhabit rivers bays canals estuaries and coastal areas moving freely between fresh saline and brackish waters. The other subspecies lives in nearshore waters lagoons estuaries and rivers of eastern mexico down the central american coast and across northern south america. West african manatees live in quiet coastal areas large rivers lagoons and connected lakes where the water temperature is above 18 c 64 f.

Florida manatees have been known to migrate as far south as cuba. Florida manatees rarely venture into deep ocean waters. Manatees are herbivores feeding solely on seagrass algae and other vegetation in freshwater and estuarine systems in the southeastern united states.