West Indian Manatees are making a comeback, and may no longer be an endangered species, according to a new announcement from the agency managing their survival.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service started an investigation of whether the species of marine mammal should be removed from the endangered list, and reclassified as threatened.
Sea cows, as the manatees are otherwise known, are fully aquatic marine mammals. There are three species of the animal currently known to exist around the world. These are the West African, Amazonian and West Indian manatees. These gentle giants can grow to be 13 feet long, and weigh as much as 1,300 pounds, but they are herbivores. They have no incisor or canine teeth, only molar-like cheek teeth. As these wear out, they are lost at the front of the mouth as new teeth form in the back. This system is similar to that found in kangaroos and elephants. They are generally solitary animals, spending more than half their day sleeping submerged in water. Florida manatees can live to be 60 years old.
The animals move through the water using flippers that look much like the paddles. Manatee is a name derived from the word manati, meaning breast in the language of the pre-Columbian Taino civilization.
Biologists believe manatees may have evolved from four-legged land mammals, related to elephants. This move to the sea is believed to have taken place sometime around 60 million years ago, as the planet recovered from the massive asteroid strike that ended the age of the dinosaurs.
The Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) filed a request for the reclassification of manatees on behalf of Save Crystal River in December 2012. Five years earlier, a study commissioned by the FWS recommended the change.
The 90-day substantial finding announced by the FWS requires additional in-depth research. The agency will also be opening a 60-day period during which they are accepting public comments. The FWS is seeking information about the animal from around its habitat.
This includes "whether or not climate change is a threat to the species, what regional climate change models are available, and whether they are reliable and credible to use as step-down models for assessing the effect of climate change on the species and its habitat," FWS managers report.
Information about the animal and health of their population is being accepted electronically, as well as by physical mail. All comments must be received by 2 September.
"The Service also is electing to simultaneously conduct an updated five-year status review also required by the [Endangered Species Act]," federal wildlife officials wrote.
