Pictures and facts about the African manatee

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African manatee

Order : Sirenia
Family : Trichechidae
Species : Trichechus senegalensis

The African Manatee (Trichechus senegalensis) is a big, roundly-shaped mammal, whose forelimbs could serve as flippers...and whose rear is horizontal and flat. Its flexible flippers are for touching, embracing (other manatees of course) and in moving their food. The upper lip has a bristly layer, and it is segregated. It may interest you to know that they do not have canine teeth/incisors, so what do they have? Only molars, and these are for crushing their vegetation intake. Older ones (molars, not the Manatee) fall out, and a new set materializes.

Another name for it is the 'West African Manatee'. It weighs below five hundred kg. African Manatees are known to reside in lagoons, coastal territories and big rivers- from brackish all the way to freshwater. An African Manatee is dependent on hanging vegetation, as opposed to those submerged. A typical member of this breed is capable of journeying from 30 to 40 km per day through various waters.

The African Manatee's population runs from Mauritania up to Angola, but their num bers are on the way down. This has been caused by hunting, captures, among lesser reasons. There has been legal mandates set to protect the African Manatee, but i t is still targetted by humans. Every so often, they are killed in control gates (dams) and turbines. If the locus is significantly damaged, a breed that thrives in it is also affected. In this case, coastal wetlands have been ruined due to ma nkind's activities. Cutting of wood has been causing the disintegration of mangro ve areas. The clearing of mangroves greatly affect lagoons and other bodies of wa ter.

Although the occasional shark or croccodile kills a manatee, the main threat for these animals are human related, habitat loss, poaching and other environmental influences.

Interesting fact: The Manatee has the unusual capability of moving each side of i ts lips independently.

Picture of the West african manatee by Sharon Mooney, licensed under GFDL

Facts about the African manatee

And the West African manatee (Trichechus senegalensis) is found along Africa's western coast.

Both the West Indian and West African manatees are either gray or brown, both average about ten feet long and both have nails on their flippers.

Manatees The african manatee (Trichechus senegalensis) is

The African manatee is found along the coast of West Africa, and further inland in the river systems.

West African Manatee Trichechus senegalensis The West African manatee is very similar in size and appearance to the West Indian manatee and lives in similar habitat.

West African manatees are found along the West coast of Africa from Senegal to Angola.

West African manatees are found in West African coastal areas, but little is known about this species because they have not been widely studied.

The skull of Trichechus senegalensis is broad and characterized by a short snout, robust zygoma, and very robust ear ossicles. (Full text)

Trichechus senegalensis, the African manatee, is one of four extant members of Sirenia. (Full text)

The Amazonian manatee occurs in the Amazon river system, the West Indian manatee is found in central Florida and along the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean coasts, and the West African manatee is found in rivers of tropical West Africa. (Full text)

West African Manatees are protected under Class A of the African Convention of Nature and Natural Resources, signed by 38 African countries. (Full text)

The West African manatee is currently listed in appendix II of CITES becuase it is considered threatened. (Full text)

The African Manatee is a [CITIES-listed Endangered Species] (Full text)

•The West African manatee (Trichechus senegalensis) is similar in size and appearance to the West Indian manatee. (Full text)

*** The West African manatee is the most threatened of all manatee species (Perrin 2001). (Full text)

Like the other species of manatees and dugongs, the West African manatee is extremely agile underwater. (Full text)

The scientific names for the Amazonian, West Indian, and West African manatees are trichechus inunguis, trichechus manatus, and trichechus senegalensis respectively. (Full text)

Despite legal protection in countries where manatees are found, the West African manatee is hunted throughout its range due to a lack of awareness coupled with little or no enforcement. (Full text)

West African manatees are protected under Class A of the African Convention of Nature and Natural Resources, signed by 38 African countries. (Full text)

Population studies on Antillean, Amazonian, and West African manatees are inadequate to determine reliable population numbers. (Full text)

Bahari, our West African Manatee Ambassador (scientific name Trichechus senegalensis), is named after an African word that means "Sea Man". (Full text)

The Scientific Council of the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS or Bonn Convention) agreed at a meeting in Edinburgh in April 2001 that the African manatee (Trichechus senegalensis) is of unfavorable conservation status and should be listed on the Convention's Appendix II (species and populations of unfavorable conservation status that would benefit from (Full text)

The West African manatee is the least studied of all the manatees. (Full text)