Manatee Matters

Scottyman: Hello Children! I'm glad you've joined us for another episode of Manatee Matters. I'm Scottyman the Manatee Man, and I'll be your tour guide as we explore the wonderful world of the endangered West Indian Manatee.

Scientists refer to the West Indian Manatee as Trichechus manatus, and place them in the Animal Kingdom within the Domain Eukarya.

Now let me introduce you to a very special friend of mine, Manny the Manatee!

Manny: Hi Children! I'm glad you've invited me to join you today.

Scottyman: Well, we're glad you're here Manny. We've just introduced our audience to the West Indian Manatee. Now, I'm a little confused. You live in both a marine and freshwater habitat, and spend your entire life under water. But, I read that you breathe air, how is that possible?

Manny: That's a great question Scottyman. You see, we manatees are mammals, and like all mammals we breathe oxygen, have live babies, and have body hair. See my whiskers?

Scottyman: Wow! That is absolutely amazing! Well, so now we know you spend your entire life under water, but where exactly do you call home?

Manny: Scottyman, I live primarily in the warm waters of the Florida peninsula. But, I have family throughout the Caribbean that I visit regularly.

Scottyman: That's really interesting Manny. Now Manny, this is the part of the show where we take questions from our viewers. Zach Thomas from Spokane, Washington wants to know what you eat?

Manny: Zach, all manatees are strictly vegans. We primarily eat water grasses, which also helps keep the waterways from getting clogged. I especially like a plant called Water Lettuce!

Scottyman: That was a great question Zach. Rebecca Wilkerson in Boone, North Carolina would like to know if any bioprospectors are looking at you for research?

Manny: Hi Rebecca! There is this one researcher who is looking into an algae that grows on us to see if it possibly has any medicinal uses. You know, Scottyman, I have a question for you. I would like to know how you got interested in manatees?

Scottyman: Manny, I grew up in southern Florida which is part of the habitat for the manatee. The manatee has just always been a part of my life, so now I work with them. Oh, well, unfortunately we're out of time for this episode of Manatee Matters. Thanks again for visiting us Manny. We'll see you next time children. Until then:



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Word Count: 410

Sources:

US Fish and Wildlife Service. http://ecos.fws.gov/species_profile/SpeciesProfile?spcode=A007 downloaded on September 15, 2004.

Save the Manatee Club. http://savethemanatee.org downloaded on September 15, 2004.

Pictures Courtesy of:

The 2 Manatees. http://fishing-boating.com/royston downloaded on September 15, 2004.

Manny. http://www.ambergriscaye.com/pages/town/article66.html downloaded September 15, 2004.

Florida. http://www.geography.eku.edu/usmap.htm downloaded September 15, 2004.

Whiskers. http://epa.gov/espp/poster/manatee.htm downloaded on September 15, 2004.

Manatee eating. http://www.billybear4kids.com/animal/whose-toes/toes23a.html downloaded September 15, 2004.

Be Manatee Aware. http://miamiseaquarium.com/education_animals.htm downloaded September 15, 2004.