What do manatees feed on

All rights reserved. Manatees explained: Inside the slow-paced lives of "sea cows" Manatees are aquatic mammals with voracious appetites—spending up to 8 hours a day grazing. Common Name: Manatees. Scientific Name: Trichechus. Type: Mammals. Diet: Herbivore. Size: 8 to 13 feet.

Weight: to 1, pounds. Size relative to a 6-ft man:. This photo was submitted to Your Shot, our photo community on Instagram. Follow us on Instagram at natgeoyourshot or visit us at natgeo. Share Tweet Email. Go Further. Animals Wild Cities This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city. The exact type of food that manatees consume really depends heavily upon where they live. Those that feed off of marine vegetation eat manatee grass, turtle grass, shoal grass, and widgeon grass.

Those that live off of freshwater vegetation will consume hydrilla, tapegrass, water hyacinth, and water lettuce. They are opportunistic feeders which mean they will consume any plant life that they come across.

Due to the many types of plant life they consume, manatees are considered to be primary eaters on the food chain ladder. This is why they are so often compared to cows because they have very similar feeding habits. Unfortunately there are also some types of plants in the water they have consumed that have resulted in large numbers of them dying. Featured Video. Cite this Article Format. Kennedy, Jennifer. What Do Manatees Eat? Herbivores: Characteristics and Categories.

Animals of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Marine Herbivores: Species and Characteristics. The 20 Biggest Mammals, Ranked by Category. Your Privacy Rights. Their curious nature has captured our hearts for hundreds of years. Christopher Columbus even thought they were mermaids! As adorable as they are, manatees are wild animals and should never be given food or water.

This same pattern is even more detrimental to wild manatees. Manatees may lose their fear of people and boats as they learn to associate them with handouts. Plus, the foods people might give manatees are not part of their natural diets or behavior.

You may have seen some manatees in captivity or at rehabilitation facilities eating lettuce given by animal care staff. This is necessary while they are cared for by professionals, who do not even hand-feed the manatees.

Instead, they might use methods such as floating or sinking the lettuce to simulate surface or bottom feeding, so the manatees do not associate people with food.