The Diet of the Manatee
Florida’s Manatees feed on over 60 species of water plants plants including turtle grass, manatee grass, shoal grass, mangrove leaves, various algae, water hyacinth, acorns, sea lettuce, and more. They’ve been seen eating shrimp, crabs, and other crustaceans, and have been known to eat clams or raid rice paddies in other parts of the world. They can consume up to 15% of their body weight in vegetation each day. Because of their slow metabolism it is hypothesized that they can go many months without eating if necessary, and that they use approximately 25% less energy than other mammals their size. Adult Manatees are usually around 9 feet long and weigh close to a thousand pounds.
Manatees will eat vegetation growing on the sea or river bottom, and will also eat floating plants. They have been seen nibbling on low-hanging branches, floating acorns, and other displaced land vegetation. They feed by using either their flexible lip, or using their flippers to move food to their mouths.Manatees have a hard plate in their upper mouth that crushes food into smaller pieces, which they then chew with their molars, which are continuously replaced throughout their lifetime. These molars grow in at the back of their jaw and move forward to replace the older, worn-out teeth, and Manatees tend to have no more than 6 teeth at a time.
Manatees do need access to fresh water, and will drink from hoses, drainage pipes, and other sources. Though it is against the law to give manatees water, manatees that are not in captavity and in the wild.
