There are 3 different species of manatees: the West Indian, the West African and the Amazon, those that we have in our Isla Mujeres location are West Indian (Trichechus manatus manatus). This species lives from Florida to the coasts of Brazil

Which is the feeding of manatees?

The manatees are herbivorous and they use to eat seaweed and aquatic plants. We feed them with lettuce, they eat near 45 k a day. Also they delight fruits and vegetables: carrot, potato, tomato, apple, pear, broccoli and banana, among others. They eat all day long between training, game sessions and during the programs! The veterinarians always supervise their diet.

Manatees are here for continuing our research program and we train them so that they let us take blood tests, for example, in voluntary form, without having to move them out of the water. Also, we train them during our programs and we teach them different behaviors, like the handshake, the kiss, to leave people touches them and knows their anatomy. They use to play to amuse themselves and to be physically and mentally active. They drink water from their fresh water key (this is very common in the wild, as manatees approach the boats to drink water from their hoses).

General Information About Manatees

• Common Name: sea cow
• They can live more than 50 years
• They are very observers and nervous
• They move slowly all the time and a layer of mud/seaweed is developed in all their skin. They scratch themselves against the rocks or the bottom to clear it
• They do not have teeth, only molars, that are replaced by new ones when they are eroded
• They can reach the 3 m and have a weight of almost 1,400 k
• The time of gestation is of 1 year and calf is about 1 m height when he is born
• The calf stays with his mother up to 2 years
• They are relatives to the elephants! Their skin is very robust, they have hair in all the body, and also 3 to 4 nails in the pectoral fins, very similar to which has the elephants
• They can hold their breathing under the water up to 30 minutes

Manatees are an endangered species!

In Dolphin Discovery we protect to this species, since in their natural habitat, the worst problems are the contamination, the lack of food and the lack of care of some boats. Plan your vacations and when you come to the Mexican Caribbean... we invite to you to meet them!