A manatee is a large, gentle marine mammal that lives in warm coastal waters and rivers. These peaceful creatures look a bit like enormous gray potatoes with flippers, growing up to 13 feet long and weighing over 1,000 pounds. Despite their bulk, manatees are surprisingly graceful swimmers, using their paddle-shaped tails to glide slowly through the water.

Manatees are herbivores, spending most of their day munching on seagrasses and other aquatic plants. They can eat up to 100 pounds of vegetation daily! Because they're mammals like us, manatees must surface regularly to breathe air, poking their whiskered snouts above the water every few minutes.

These animals are sometimes called sea cows because of their slow, calm nature and plant-based diet. Sailors long ago may have mistaken them for mermaids when glimpsing them in murky water, though it's hard to imagine how once you see one up close.

Manatees face dangers from boat propellers in busy waterways, and many bear scars from close encounters. In Florida, where manatees gather in warm springs during winter, people work to protect these vulnerable animals. When you see a manatee, you're looking at one of the ocean's most easygoing residents, contentedly grazing underwater like an aquatic lawn mower.