Amazonian manatee

The Amazonian manatee (Trichechus inunguis), sometimes called cowfish in Brazil, is a special kind of manatee that lives in the rivers and lakes of the Amazon Basin. This area includes countries such as Brazil, Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador. It is the smallest of the three kinds of manatees that are alive today.

This gentle animal has thin, wrinkled skin that is usually brownish or gray, with tiny hairs spread across its body. One of its most noticeable features is a white patch on its chest. Amazonian manatees swim slowly and carefully, helping keep the water ecosystems healthy by eating plants and moving through the rivers.

Taxonomy

The name inunguis means "nailless" in Latin. The word Trichechus also comes from Latin and means "hair," referring to the whiskers around the manatee's mouth.

Physical characteristics

The Amazonian manatee is the smallest member of the manatee family. It has smooth, rubbery skin and lacks nails on its flippers. These manatees can weigh between 120 to 379 kilograms and measure from about 1.6 to 2.3 meters long. Calves are born weighing between 10 to 15 kilograms and are about 85 to 105 centimeters long. They grow quickly, adding about 1.6 to 2.0 millimeters each day.

Amazonian manatees have a cylindrical body shape with flippers for moving and touching. Their upper lip is special, with a bristly surface that helps them feed. They are usually grey with a bright white or pink patch on their chest. These manatees have teeth that continuously grow and shift throughout their lives, a trait shared only with elephants among living animals. Their teeth move slowly, about 1 to 2 millimeters each month. Unlike other manatees, Amazonian manatees have almost no bending at the front of their snouts, which helps them feed efficiently at the water's surface where their food grows.

Behavior and biology

The Amazonian manatee is the only sirenian that lives only in freshwater. It keeps warm by changing how blood flows in its body and has a thick layer of fat under its skin. Unlike whales, manatees have nostrils that close underwater to keep water out and open when they need to breathe. They can stay underwater for a long time but usually come up for air every five minutes.

Manatees move with the seasons, going to flooded areas when there is plenty of food. They search for plants at the bottom of rivers and lakes, with only their nostrils showing above the water. These manatees can make sounds, often heard talking to their young.

Diet

Amazonian manatees eat many types of water plants, such as water lilies and water hyacinths, as well as fruits that fall into the water. They eat about 8% of their body weight in food each day. During the dry season, when water levels drop, some manatees stay in deep parts of lakes and may not eat much, surviving on their stored fat.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Amazonian manatees have their babies during a long breeding season, with most births happening between December and July. After a baby is born, it stays close to its mother for about a year and a half. These manatees can live around 30 years in the wild.

Population and distribution

The Amazonian manatee was estimated to have around 10,000 individuals in 1977, but today the exact number is unknown and the population is thought to be getting smaller. These manatees live in the Amazon River area in northern South America, from Brazil to Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador. They are sometimes seen near the coast of Brazil along with another type of manatee called the West Indian manatee.

Amazonian manatees spend all their time in water, especially in calm, shallow areas with lots of plants. They like places far from people and often move between different areas with the seasons. Sometimes they gather in small groups. Animals that might eat them include jaguars, sharks, and several types of caimans.

Illegal hunting

The Amazonian manatee faces a big problem because of illegal hunting. People hunt them for their meat, fat, and skin, even though there are laws to stop this. This hunting has caused the number of manatees to drop a lot. From 1935 to 1954, more than 140,000 manatees were killed. Even in places meant to protect them, hunting still happens.

Manatees are hunted mostly for their meat, which is very valuable. Their fat and skin are also used for cooking and medicines. The meat is sold locally or in markets, sometimes hidden as other foods. Between 2011 and 2015, 195 manatees were killed in one area of Brazil, and in another protected area, 460 were killed between 2004 and 2014.

Conservation

The Amazonian manatee is considered vulnerable, meaning it could become endangered. The main reasons for its population decline are hunting, loss of young manatees, changes in climate, and loss of habitat. However, it's hard to know exactly how many manatees there are because they live in murky water.

While there are no special plans to protect manatees in most places, Colombia has some protections in place. In Peru, laws have been in place since 1973 to stop people from hunting or selling manatees.

Hunting is still the biggest problem for manatees, and it happens even in protected areas. In the past, hunters in Ecuador were taking too many manatees, and without protection, they could have disappeared there within 10 to 15 years. Today, besides hunting, manatees face new dangers from oil spills and more boats on the rivers.

In Peru, people hunt manatees for their meat, fat, and skin. They use tools like harpoons and nets to catch them, often near the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve. Manatees are slow and often swim close to the surface, making them easy targets. They also face risks from pollution, getting caught in fishing nets by accident, and damage to plants from soil erosion. Mining activities release harmful materials into the water, threatening the whole ecosystem of the Amazon Basin.