West African manatee

서아프리카매너티

The West African manatee is a gentle plant-eater of coasts, rivers and lagoons in West Africa. It has a round grey body, a paddle tail and a whiskery snout for grazing aquatic plants. It grows to about 3 m and is listed as vulnerable.

See it on the 3D globe →

At a glance

Class: Mammals
Lives in: Coasts, estuaries and rivers of West Africa, here off the Gulf of Guinea
Diet: Plant eater (herbivore)
Weight: about 360 kg
Conservation status: Vulnerable (IUCN VU)
Habitat: coasts, rivers & lakes, wetlands

Quick answers

Where does the West African manatee live?

It lives in coasts, rivers & lakes, wetlands of the Atlantic Ocean. On the globe you can find it near Coasts, estuaries and rivers of West Africa, here off the Gulf of Guinea.

How big is the West African manatee?

It grows to about 360 kg.

What does the West African manatee eat?

Its diet: plant eater (herbivore).

Is the West African manatee endangered?

It is listed as Vulnerable (IUCN VU).

The West African manatee is a gentle, plant-eating mammal that lives along the coasts, rivers and lagoons of West Africa, from Senegal to Angola. It is the only manatee in the Old World, and one of only two sirenians there, the other being the dugong.

It has a round grey body, a paddle-shaped tail and a whiskery snout for grazing underwater plants. It grows to about 3 metres and is listed as Vulnerable. Like the dugong, it is a sirenian, a group of slow, gentle sea-cows that graze on plants. It spends most of its day eating and resting in warm, calm, shallow water, never in cold seas.

Sea and river life

The African manatee lives in the widest range of habitats of any sirenian, from offshore islands in the Atlantic to rivers in the Sahel and the rainforest. It can live in salt, brackish or fresh water, and seldom enters water colder than 18 degrees Celsius.

Coastal groups may swim up rivers in the rainy season and come back down in the dry season. Manatees have been found as far as 75 kilometres offshore. It was named as a species in 1795 by the naturalist Johann Heinrich Friedrich Link.

Dams and danger

Dams on rivers can trap manatees. The Diama Dam in Senegal and the Felou Dam in Mali have cut off the Senegal River population from the sea, and the Akosombo Dam in Ghana has also blocked their movements.

Isolated groups are more at risk, which is one reason the species is Vulnerable. Protecting rivers so that they stay open from the sea to the inland waters is key to its survival.

Fun facts

It is the only manatee in Africa and can travel far up rivers such as the Niger.
It is the only manatee in Africa.
It can swim up rivers like the Niger.
It has been seen up to 75 kilometres offshore.