What exactly is a Manatee?

Question

i'm just curious because they kind of look like hippos.

thanks in advance!

Answer 1

Manatees are large, aquatic, slow-moving mammals.  They are harmless and eat strictly aquatic plants.  They are also called "Sea Cows" and are often victims of boat propeller wounds.  Off the coasts of Florida you will sometimes see warning signs alerting boaters to the presence of Manatees, so that they do not hit them with their boats.  

Maritime ship hands use to think that the Manatees were mermaids.  Below is a link to more information about these gentle creatures.

Answer 2

Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus Trichechus) are large, fully aquatic marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. The name manatí comes from the Taino, a pre-Colombian people of the Caribbean, meaning "breast". They comprise three of the four living species in the order Sirenia, the other being the dugong, which is native to the eastern hemisphere. The Sirenia is thought to have evolved from four-legged land mammals over 60 million years ago, with the closest living relatives being the Proboscidea (elephants) and Hyracoidea (hyraxes).

Answer 3

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/5960/... this should give you the answer.  Hope it helps.

Answer 4

http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/info...

i hope this link helps you but to me it looks like a fatter version of a dolphin.