The West Indian manatee is a large, gray aquatic mammal with a wrinkled face and whiskered snout. It has a flat, paddle-shaped tail and two flippers with three or four nails on each one. Its closest land relative is the elephant.

It is considered one of Florida’s keystone species, whose behavior can alert researchers to environmental and habitat changes that may otherwise go unnoticed in the state’s waterways.

Within the United States, manatees are concentrated in Florida in the winter. In summer, they can be found as far west as Texas and as far north as Massachusetts, but summer sightings in the southern states aremore common. They can be found in shallow, slow-moving rivers, estuaries, saltwater bays, canals and coastal areas — particularly where seagrass beds or freshwater vegetation flourish.

Florida manatees were first protected under state law in 1893 and are covered by the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act. On a federal level, they are protected by both the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act.