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Animal Size

West Indian manatee size: How big do they get?

How big does a West Indian manatee get? Here is an overview over the average adult age:

A grown West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus) reaches an average size of 3.5 meter (11′ 6″).

When born, they have an average size of 0 cm (0′ 0″). During their lifetime of about 30 years, they grow from 29.62 kg (65.3 lbs) to 467.16 kg (1029.91 lbs). A West Indian manatee has 1 babies at once. The West Indian manatee (genus: Trichechus) is a member of the family Trichechidae.

As a reference: Humans reach an average body size of 1.65m (5′ 5″) while carrying 62 kg (137 lbs). A human woman is pregnant for 280 days (40 weeks) and on average become 75 years old.

The average adult size of a West Indian manatee is (11' 6

The West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus) or “sea cow”, also known as North American manatee, is the largest surviving member of the aquatic mammal order Sirenia (which also includes the dugong and the extinct Steller’s sea cow). It is further divided into two subspecies, the Florida manatee (T. m. latirostris) and the Antillean or Caribbean manatee (T. m. manatus), based on genetic and morphological studies. The Florida subspecies is primarily found along the coasts of Florida, but its range extends as far west as Texas and as far north as Massachusetts. The Antillean subspecies has a sparse distribution throughout the Caribbean, ranging as far north as Mexico and as far south as Brazil.Manatees are obligate herbivores, have developed vocal communication abilities, and are covered in highly sensitive vibrissae that are used for feeding and navigation. In breeding season, several males form mating herds around an individual female; on average, one calf is born to a female manatee every two to three years.The West Indian manatee was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in the 1970’s, when there were only several hundred left, and the decades since have witnessed significant efforts by federal, state, private, and nonprofit organizations to protect these species from natural and human-induced threats, particularly collisions with watercraft. On March 30, 2017, the US Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke announced the federal reclassification of the West Indian manatee from endangered to threatened, citing a substantial increase in the total population.

Animals of the same family as a West Indian manatee

We found other animals of the Trichechidae family:

Animals with the same size as a West Indian manatee

Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as West Indian manatee:

Animals with the same litter size as a West Indian manatee

Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (1) as a West Indian manatee:

Animals with the same life expectancy as a West Indian manatee

Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a West Indian manatee:

Animals with the same weight as a West Indian manatee

As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Trichechus manatus: