Manatees are large, gentle aquatic mammals, often called “sea cows” due to their herbivorous diet and grazing habits. They primarily consume aquatic vegetation. Manatees typically do not eat kelp; their diet focuses on other plant material found in their specific warm-water habitats.
What Manatees Eat
Manatees are strict herbivores, meaning their diet consists entirely of plants. They consume a wide variety of aquatic vegetation in both fresh and saltwater environments. Florida manatees alone eat over 60 different plant species. Seagrasses form a significant part of their coastal diet, including turtle grass, manatee grass, and shoal grass.
In freshwater habitats, their diet shifts to plants such as water hyacinths, water lettuce, hydrilla, and eelgrass. Manatees also occasionally eat algae and mangrove leaves. These large animals consume 7% to 15% of their body weight daily, often over 100 pounds for an adult. They use flexible lips and front flippers to gather and manipulate plants, which are processed by specialized molars.
Where Manatees Live and Find Food
Manatees inhabit warm, shallow coastal waters, rivers, estuaries, and springs. These environments provide abundant aquatic vegetation, their primary food source. Manatees cannot tolerate water temperatures below 68°F (20°C), restricting their range to tropical and subtropical regions.
Kelp forests, conversely, thrive in cooler, nutrient-rich waters, common along the Pacific coast. The colder, deeper waters and rocky substrates where kelp grows are unsuitable habitats for manatees. They prefer shallower areas where sunlight supports seagrasses and other aquatic plants, typically feeding at depths of 3 to 7 feet.
Why Manatee Diet Matters
The diet of manatees is directly linked to their health and role within aquatic ecosystems. As prolific grazers, manatees help maintain seagrass bed health by preventing overgrowth, similar to how cows graze pastures. Their feeding habits also contribute to the dispersal of seeds and nutrients, promoting the growth of new aquatic plants.
Threats to their food sources directly impact manatee populations. Habitat degradation, pollution, and harmful algal blooms can lead to significant seagrass loss, resulting in starvation for manatees. The ongoing decline of seagrass beds, particularly in areas like the Indian River Lagoon, poses a serious challenge to manatee survival. Protecting these vital aquatic plant habitats is crucial for their well-being and conservation.