If its molars happen to fall out, new ones grow in their place. When the manatee is born, each jaw has two vestigial incisors, which the manatee loses as it matures.Vegetation is then chewed by the manatees' strong molars, which are their only teeth. African manatees do not have any hind limbs but they have large forelimbs, or flippers, which are used to paddle and to bring food to their mouths.From the exterior, the African manatee looks very similar to the American manatee however, the African manatee has characteristic white markings on its abdomen.Currently, the African manatee is classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List. There are estimated populations of this species in the following areas: 750-800 individuals in Côte d'Ivoire and 125 individuals in Benin.
Population numberĪccording to the IUCN Red List, the total population size of the African manatee is fewer than 10,000 individuals. When manatees become tangled in fishing nets, they often damage them and in addition, they can destroy rice crops by drifting into fields during the rainy season. Some behaviors of African manatees provoke humans to hunt them. Many manatees migrate there during the rainy season and when the water dries up they are unable to get to other bodies of water. At certain times each year, the Niger River dries up due to the hot temperatures and lack of rain. Many of the African manatees that venture up the Niger River starve to death.
Starvation is another cause of mortality. Some are killed accidentally by fishing trawls and in nets that are intended for catching sharks. Even natural occurrences, such as droughts and tidal changes, can often strand these animals in unsuitable habitats.
At several hydroelectric dams, manatees have been caught and killed in the turbines and intake valves. The building of dams has led to the genetic isolation of some populations. Other serious threats to this species include urban and agricultural development, increased damming, and increased use of hydroelectric power in the rivers of countries like Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. In some countries, such as Nigeria and Cameroon, African manatees are sold to zoos, aquariums, online as pets, and they are sometimes shipped internationally. The African manatee is a vulnerable species because of its meat, oil, bones, and skin, which can bring great wealth to poachers.
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