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  • Manatee

Manatee

Find me in
Amazon Flooded Forest
  • Quick Facts
  • Larger-Than-Life Personalities
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Quick facts

Lifespan

Lifespan

60 to 70 years

The oldest manatee under human care was 69 years old

Seagrass

Diet

Seagrass

Habitat

Habitat

Rivers

and coastal waters

range

Range

Off the Caribbean Sea

and the Gulf of Mexico

Larger-than-life personalities

Eva

Eva

DOB: 13 Apr 1991

Eva is the largest manatee in Amazon Flooded Forest. She weighs about 1,200kg! The mother of eight calves and grandmother of seven, she is the grande dame of the herd.

Pedro

Pedro

DOB: 27 Jul 1979

Pedro is the oldest male in our collection. To tell him apart from the rest, look out for his long, lanky frame. He often nibbles the aquarists, as a way of asking for food.

Canola

Canola

DOB: 6 Aug 2014

Canola was hand-raised by our aquarists when she was not observed to suckle. Every three hours in her first three months, Canola was bottle-fed a special mixture of puppy formula and goat milk, infused with canola oil, hence her name.

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The manatees

High-fi and low-cal diet

High-fi and low-cal diet

Manatees spend 6-8 hours a day feeding on submerged and floating aquatic vegetation, which contain large amounts of roughage. Our manatees chomp on similarly high-fibre and low-calorie Chinese cabbage, banana leaves and elephant grass. They are known as sea cows because they spend half of the day grazing on sea grass and aquatic plants. They eat about 10% of their weight, which is between 350 and 600kg.
(In)digestion

(In)digestion

It's not blubber that fills those barrel-shaped bodies, but an immense digestive system that includes up to 45 metres of intestines. Dedicated to digesting plant matter, this lengthy passageway extends digestion time and helps them absorb as much nutrients as possible. A single meal takes about a week to be fully digested!
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The aquarist

Aquarist

Joey Song

Aquarist
Can you tell us how you train the manatees?
Aquarist

Joey Song

Aquarist

Can you tell us how you train the manatees?

High-fibre pellets are our manatees’ favourite snack. These are given as rewards during operant conditioning sessions to get our manatees used to routine checks and medical procedures. Canola started training when she was two. She now responds to coloured targets and presents her flipper voluntarily for blood draws. She also cooperates for mouth swabs by lifting her head out of water and flips belly-up for ultrasound scans to detect and monitor any future pregnancies.
Zoo keeper

Joey Song

Aquarist
Please share with us any interesting incidents with the manatees.
Zoo keeper

Joey Song

Aquarist

Please share with us any interesting incidents with the manatees.

On my first dive, one of the manatees – her name is Abel – came up to me and started to chew on my hair! They want to chew on anything. We use a long hose to clean the tank. The younger ones are very playful. They will come and give you a bump or play with the hose.
Zoo keeper

Joey Song

Aquarist
Do you know all the manatees by sight?
Zoo keeper

Joey Song

Aquarist

Do you know all the manatees by sight?

Yes, each one of them is different. I look at their size first, then their body shape and skin tone. Eva is the biggest, she’s 1,200 kilograms and 3.5 metres long. Pedro, one of the old males, is the leanest. Their faces and eyes are different. And so is the way they open their mouths - Eva likes to open her mouth wide above water during feeding.

Together, we protect wildlife

Abandoned calves

Abandoned calves

Whenever a baby is born, our aquarists keep a close watch for 48 hours to ensure it is suckling well. Sadly, scientists are seeing more orphaned calves in the wild. Separated from their mothers by human disturbance, these calves have been found stranded on coasts and left to fend for themselves.

The IUCN Status

VU

Vulnerable

At high risk of extinction in the wild

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is widely recognized as the most comprehensive, objective global approach for evaluating the conservation status of plant and animal species.

DD

Data Deficient

Unknown risk of extinction

LC

Least Concern

At relatively low risk of extinction

NT

Near Threatened

Likely to become vulnerable in the near future

VU

Vulnerable

At high risk of extinction in the wild

EN

Endangered

At very high risk of extinction in the wild

CR

Critically Endangered

At extremely high risk of extinction in the wild

EW

Extinct in the Wild

Survives only in captivity

EX

Extinct

No surviving individuals in the wild or in captivity

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Glamping with the Manatees

Ever wondered about life underwater? Here’s your chance to dive into a magical 2 days 1 night adventure at River Wonders!

Enjoy fun-filled wildlife experiences in the day — meet the cheeky squirrel monkeys and other special animals in a private session. Be wowed by the fairytale tents and drift off to sleep next to manatees at the Amazon Flooded Forest!

Find out more

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Every visit to our parks comes with

Every visit to our parks comes with
Find out how, together, we're creating a better future for wildlife and the planet.

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