In environment: Because manatees cannot survive very long in water below 68 degrees Fahrenheit, they have found ways to stay in warmer waters to survive. This may mean migrating to warmer waters, or congregating around warm water springs and man-made sources of warm water such as power plant discharges. Both the West Indian and West African manatees may require a source of fresh water for drinking. Manatees have been seen drinking fresh water from hoses, sewage outfalls, and other fresh water sources and also congregating at river mouths. Adapting to the benefits of man-made heat and man-supplied fresh water have helped the manatees survive, but also put them in great danger. Read the conservation efforts page to learn more about this.

To obtain food: All manatees are herbivores, and have adapted ways to help these eating habits. The manatee uses its front flippers and muscular lips to bring plants to its mouth. Instead of having front teeth, the manatee relies on the thick ribbed pads in the front of its mouth to help break vegetation into small, chewable pieces. They also have an endless supply of molars. A manatee may have six to seven molars on each side of its jaw. As these teeth become dull from grinding up plants, they fall out, then new teeth move forward from the rear of the jaw and replace them.

For locomotion: Manatees have developed their lungs so that with a single breath, they can renew 90% of the air in their lungs. Humans can only renew 10%. This means that the manatee does not need to come up for air as often. In order to move around, the manatee uses its strong flat paddle like tail. Normally they move at only 5 mph, but in short bursts, they can move up to 15 mph.

To avoid predation: The West African and Amazonian manatees migrate downstream or into deeper parts of rivers and lakes to avoid starvation and predation.