The Florida manatees are endangered large, gray aquatic mammels found in Florida's waterways. The Florida manatee lives in brackish, salt and freshwater coastal areas around Florida.

The adult manatee weighs around 1,000 pounds and is about 10 feet long. At birth, the calves weigh about 60-80 pounds. The manatee is a plant-eating mammal (herbivore) that must come to the surface to breath air every three to five minutes. Like all mammals, it has hair on its body, nurses its young and is warm-blooded. Manatees can live to be about 50 to 60 years old. Manatees can be found in shallow, slow-moving rivers, estuaries, saltwater bays, canals, and coastal areas where seagrass beds or freshwater vegetation flourish.