Frankly, I’m a little surprised that I haven’t done this blog post yet.  After all, when the meany, meany, MacMeanersons start taunting the fat folks, this name is definitely in the top ten.  Nevertheless, I’ve never done a post about the awesome and  most wonderful manatee.

The manatee (also known as the sea cow) comprises three of the four living species in the order Sirenia.  The fourth species is the dugong (which can be distinguished from the manatee by its longer snout and fluked tail.)  This vegetarian mammal is born big, typically weighing over 60 pounds at birth!  Manatees spend half their time sleeping in the water, typically surfacing for air once every 20 minutes or so.  They have a number of other unique features including:

• Teeth that are replaced continually throughout the life of the creature.  Typically there are no more than six teeth its mouth at any given time.
• A vascularized cornea
• Eyelids that close in a circular manner
• A simple stomach with a particularly large cecum (similar to that of a horse).  The manatee’s intestines are very large for their size, typically measuring over 45 meters.

Of course one of the primary features of the manatee is its size.  Here’s the stats:

Length: Averaging 9.2 to 9.8 ft. in length, the manatee can measure as much as 12 ft.

Mass: 880 to 1,200 pounds.

Conclusion, the massive and magnificent manatee weighs more than me.