The manatee is an amazing gentle giant. Unfortunately it's also called a "sea cow", named this by Georg Stellar because he said they "taste like beef"???
The average adult manatee grows up to 12 feet long and can weigh 1,800 pounds. They are also long lived at up to 60 + years.
When manatees are born their a dark gray and as they mature their skin lightens to a gray color. Adult manatees frequently have barnacles and algae growing on them just like whales.
Although manatees can stay submerged for up to 20 minutes they usually surface every 5 minutes.
Manatees migrate with the season's. In Summer they like the warm waters of the Florida coastline and rivers. In Winter if they don't find warm springs they migrate to the Gulf Of Mexico's warmer waters.
Manatees eat water plants with their flat molars. An adult can eat 100 to 150 pounds of food a day. They have what's called "marching molars". They are flat, grinding teeth that grow in at the back of the jaw and then migrate to the front of the jaw. As the teeth are ground down they fall out and new ones take their place.
Manatees are gentle and social animals. They communicate with each other by clicks and chirps. They live in small family groups of up to 20 animals.
They give birth to a single calf after a year long gestation period. At birth the calf is 3 to 4 feet and weighs up to 70 pounds. females are mature at 5 years.
Manatees are also the animals early sailors, around the time of Hercules, believed were "mermaids or sirens". Ancient Greeks believed that beautiful girls lived in the sea and sang melodic songs to the sailors. The sailors were so hypnotized by these songs that they crashed their ships on the rocks to find the girls that sang the songs.
Manatees are seriously Endangered and their only enemy is "man". Now isn't that a surprise!!!
When a manatee appears in your life it's trying to teach you how to slow down and take the time to see things more clearly.
Finding your animal totem is a spiritual journey.
The animal you feel most attracted to or kinship with is probably your main animals energy that will be with you all your life. There are other animal spirits that will come and go depending upon your needs at the time.
Each day upon rising step into nature, physically or mentally. The first animal you see or feel, become it. Take on it's characteristics and allow it to become part of you. In this way a deeper insight about yourself is gained as you feel the animal's spirit awakening inside you.
The direction your animal totem is facing when see it in your dreams or in real life also has meaning.
Facing North means you need to learn lessons of using your potential. Your element is the earth, which is symbolic of wisdom, patience and prosperity. Grounding aspects of mind, body and spirit. What you gain in knowledge and teachings will be used later. Listen to your intuitions and trust that your inner pathway will be revealed to you at the right time.
Facing East is learning the lessons of responsible relationships. Your element is air, which links heaven and earth allowing you to walk between the spiritual and the physical using dreams and visions. Be open to any revelations you get for they will give you guidance to grow spiritually within and without.
Facing West is the lesson of adaptability. Water is your element, which always takes the path of less resistance. This allows you to adapt according to the needs in all areas of your life. To do this requires a shift in consciousness to be able to flow like water over given circumstances.
Facing South are the lessons of life, death and rebirth. Fire is your element and it rules the heart, passions and love that help to regenerate lives. Change must be met with strength and endurance knowing you will awaken anew, fresh and purified. All of life is a cycle, there are many transition periods we must go Through. During these times we learn, grow and expand our self-awareness.
This is where I usually add a pix of an animal but I thought you might like to see some of the living and/or holding conditions reptiles are sometimes kept in at animal agencies before we can get there to pick them up.
I want to make this perfectly clear...I'm not knocking any agencies that take in reptiles. Most agencies are on a limited budget and deal mostly with dogs and cats. Many don't have the money, space or expertise to provide ideal conditions. So we provide them with info on how to do a very basic and minimal set up till we can get there or have it shipped.
This is the second year in a row we've gotten a gator call around Christmas Eve. The pix shows the 3 ft gator, dark spot in back, in a regular dog kennel at a county animal shelter. Both sides had large barking dogs. Did I mention one of my top 5 reasons why I like reptiles is that their "quiet". He's on clean shavings, does have a nice clean water dish and a heat lamp. The ambient air temp was cold enough you had to wear a jacket in the room. They were the first to admit we had to get him soon.
The point I'm trying to make is "if an agency can't afford to do it right, how in the world is the person buying it from a pet store, reptile show or heaven forbid...over the Internet, going to get the info to do it proper"!!!
Don't forget this would be a nice treat for your self, a terrific gift for a friend or...that "someone special" and you'd be helping us at the same time...what a deal!!!
May all animals, especially reptiles, always have a safe and warm place to sleep, full tummies and most important...a loving "appropriate" home.
Please visit our store Crocodile Collectibles as we have a lots of wonderful animal "goodies" just in time for gift giving that would love to come live at yours or a friends home.
We hope your enjoying our store and meeting some of our critters.
Thank you for looking and caring.
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