Amazonian Manatee

Trichechus inunguis

The Amazonian manatee (Trichechus inunguis) is the only manatee confined entirely to fresh water, living in the Amazon Basin and its tributaries, lakes, and seasonally flooded forests. It is a rounded, slow-moving herbivore with dark gray to black skin, a pale chest or belly patch in many individuals, and no nails on the flippers, a trait reflected in its scientific name. During high water it feeds widely on aquatic and floating plants, then may fast or move to deeper refuges as floodwaters recede.

Human care is mostly conservation, rescue, and rehabilitation rather than ownership. Orphaned calves taken from hunting or fishing incidents may need long-term bottle feeding, warm clean water, and gradual introduction to native vegetation before release is considered. Protected-area management, enforcement against illegal hunting, and work with fishing communities are central to its future. Facilities that hold Amazonian manatees need quiet pools, careful water-quality control, and staff able to manage buoyancy, skin, nutrition, and social behavior in a large aquatic mammal.