John R. Bixler
Manatee
West Indian manatee or "sea cow", also known as American manatee
Manatees are not known to have stellar eyesight, especially at night. So, the Wiskers provide manatees with a sixth sense and allow them to move around in dimly light environments.
There is no denying that the manatee is a very unique mammal found in the water. Full grown they can weigh up to 1,200 pounds. They can also be up to 10 feet in length. Many people have the opinion that the manatee is very strangely put together. It seems out of proportion. For example it does have a large body but then very small eyes that are spaced far apart.
You will notice that the manatee has a prehensile which is the upper lip looking similar to the trunk of an elephant only shorter. This lip is extremely important to the manatee as they use it to get and consume food as well as for socializing and communicating with each other.
To help them digest all of those plants, they have a cecum. This is a type of digestive tract that leads to the large intestine. It is believed to be as large as that of a regular sized horse. The cecum is needed to help eliminate the bacteria that can be found in such food sources. Otherwise it can make any animal that consumes so much of it extremely ill.
While they manatee does have teeth, they don’t use them for eating. They have teeth that all look the same. That is they don’t have different types such as incisors or canine teeth like humans and other types of animals do. They usually only have 24 to 32 molars located in the back of the mouth, and can regrow them as they need to throughout their life span.
Manatee
West Indian manatee or "sea cow", also known as American manatee
Manatees are not known to have stellar eyesight, especially at night. So, the Wiskers provide manatees with a sixth sense and allow them to move around in dimly light environments.
There is no denying that the manatee is a very unique mammal found in the water. Full grown they can weigh up to 1,200 pounds. They can also be up to 10 feet in length. Many people have the opinion that the manatee is very strangely put together. It seems out of proportion. For example it does have a large body but then very small eyes that are spaced far apart.
You will notice that the manatee has a prehensile which is the upper lip looking similar to the trunk of an elephant only shorter. This lip is extremely important to the manatee as they use it to get and consume food as well as for socializing and communicating with each other.
To help them digest all of those plants, they have a cecum. This is a type of digestive tract that leads to the large intestine. It is believed to be as large as that of a regular sized horse. The cecum is needed to help eliminate the bacteria that can be found in such food sources. Otherwise it can make any animal that consumes so much of it extremely ill.
While they manatee does have teeth, they don’t use them for eating. They have teeth that all look the same. That is they don’t have different types such as incisors or canine teeth like humans and other types of animals do. They usually only have 24 to 32 molars located in the back of the mouth, and can regrow them as they need to throughout their life span.