Anecdotal Accounts of Manatee Behavior: Conservation and Management, Behavioral Ecology, and Cognition

• Published in: Aquatic mammals Vol. 49; no. 2; pp. 130 - 147
• Main Authors: Reep, Roger L., Bauer, Gordon B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Moline Aquatic Mammals Journal, NFP 01.01.2023; Aquatic Mammals
• Subjects: Animal behavior; Animal cognition; Animal intelligence; Animal reproduction; Anti-predator behavior; Aquatic mammals; Behavior; Boats; Cognition; Conservation; Conspecifics; Ecology; Foraging behavior; Freshwater mammals; Hypotheses; Manatees; Marine mammals; Mating behavior; Memory; Navigation; Observations; Predators; Rehabilitation; Reproductive behaviour; Sensory perception; Trichechus manatus; Wildlife conservation; United States; Florida; United States > US
• DOI: 10.1578/AM.49.2.2023.130
• ISSN: 0167-5427

Herein, we report anecdotes of manatee (family Trichechidae) behavior based upon accounts made by experienced observers. We have categorized the anecdotes into the broad categories of Conservation and Management (interactions with boats, people, and capture nets; rehabilitation and release), Behavioral Ecology (navigation, mother–calf interactions, interactions with conspecifics, mating behavior and birthing, anti-predator behavior, foraging and eating), and Cognition (sensory perception; learning, memory, and knowledge; interactions with objects, other species, and people; and mimetic behavior). These are all subjects that pertain to the goals of the Florida Manatee Recovery Plan of 2001. We found that many accounts report similar behaviors, suggesting that these may be fruitful lines of further inquiry. One subcategory, Navigation, appears to offer many research areas amenable to systematic study. The apparent behavioral flexibility and knowledge shown in manatee actions in several domains suggest that investigations of manatee intelligence are likely to be revealing.