Mote Marine Laboratory

My son reached into the touch pool at Mote Marine and lifted this living conch shell out of the water to show to you. It's fun to touch and hold the living sea creatures. Children especially enjoy this activity. There are docents available to answer questions about the animals and to make sure the animals are handled carefully.

The two adult manatees at Mote are named Hugh & Buffett. Sorry I didn't record which this manatee is. Both were born at the Miami Seaquarium and are used by Mote as ambassadors to the public. They have also been trained to participate in research. The research involves manatee hearing, eye sight and the sensitivity of the hairs on the end of their snouts.

Manatees are herbivores that eat plants like mangrove leaves, turtle grass, algae, and lettuce. Hugh and Buffett eat about 72 heads of lettuce a day! Sometimes they eat a few fish from fishermen's nets, too. A Manatee usually only has six small teeth in its mouth. They each start in the back of the jaw and move foreward to replace teeth that fall out.

Manatees are on the federal endangered species list. But, the state of Florida has removed the manatee from the state endangered species list and have given them "threatened" status. Manatees like warm, shallow, coastal waters which speedboats and fishermen also like. Manatees can swallow fishing hooks and metal weights while feeding. Those don't seem to hurt them, but, fishing line can clog their digestive systems and kill them. Manatees have also drowned in pipes and culverts and been victims of red tide.

www.mote.org and wikipedia.org were used as references. Dr. Eugenie Clark's photo and bio is from http://www.sharklady.com/