Getting to know Manatees
Above: Swimming together, possibly a mother and calf pair. Photo by Sam Farkas, 2014 NOAA OAR photo contest winner Below: Definitely not a mermaid, but much cuter in our opinion. Photo by Emily J. McDaniel, Imbued Photography
By Neva Parsons Assistant Editor
Florida manatees visit our coastal waters when water temperatures begin to warm and it's always a thrill to catch a glimpse of one. In this feature we'll learn about manatee senses, share some fun trivia, and learn how you can help these protected mammals.
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man would have to be three sheets to the wind to see any resemblance between a sea cow – otherwise known as a manatee – and a beautiful young woman with flowing locks and a fish’s tail. But there’s speculation that these gentle, shy, herbivorous creatures may have been mistaken for mermaids in the old days of sail. Even Christopher Columbus noted three “mermaids” off the coast of Haiti, but was disappointed that their faces had “some masculine traits” and so were not as lovely as had been rumored. It must have been the whiskers. But the very obvious facial whiskers are only the beginning of this hairy tale. Manatees sport tiny hairs all over their bodies known as vibrissae. The dictionary definition of vissibrae is “hairs growing around the mouth or elsewhere … used as organs of touch.” Much as a cat uses its whiskers to process sensory input from its environment, a manatee uses all that fine body hair to compensate for its poor eyesight in low-light waters, or at night. A study conducted at the Mote Marine Laboratory, in Florida, indicates the hairs are hypersensitive and able to detect vibrations as low as one-millionth of a meter. And all this without external ear lobes! Cont. on page 18 16
Southern Tides Magazine April 2022
