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Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus Trichechus) are large aquatic mammals sometimes known as sea cows. The Trichechidae differ from the Dugongidae in the shape of the skull and the shape of the tail. Manatees' tails are paddle-shaped, while the Dugong's is forked. It is an herbivore, spending most of its time grazing in shallow waters.Manatees inhabit shallow, marshy coastal areas of North, Central, and South America, and the Caribbean Sea.Manatees are killed and injured by propellors and by impacts from boat hulls. They're also crushed in water control structures (navigation locks, flood gates, etc.), drown in pipes and culverts and are occasionally killed due to ingestion of fishing gear (hooks have been known to perforate the GI tract and, as was pointed out, monofilament fishing line can entangle the gut) and entanglement in fishing gear.Manatees often congregate near power plants, which warm the waters. Some have become reliant on this source of unnatural heat and have ceased migrating to warmer waters. Some power plants have recently been closing and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is trying to find a new way to heat the water for these manatees.The main water treatment plant in Guyana has three manatees that keep storage canals clear of weeds.
