Manatees are Considered the Foundation of the Mermaid Legend

Their tails are wide and round. They have dark gray skin from light gray, hair is dotted in the body. I have no legs. Some lengths are 13 feet and weigh more than 3,500 pounds. Every manatee in the world has a similar habitat. They are in slow rivers, saltwater bays, canals and coastal areas, places where vegetation of seagrass seaweed beds or fresh water grows abundantly. Also, manatees are herbivores. "Manatee can eat aquatic plants and eat 10-15% of the weight of plants everyday" ("Manatee fact").

Manatee may not look like a mermaid for us, but seafarers mistakenly mistakenly saw manatees as legendary mermaids many years ago. Christopher Columbus was the first person to record the discovery of manatees in the new world and was surprised by the less beautiful "mermaid". Part of the legend of manatee came from the Greek mythical siren legend and was named after their animal's command Sirenia to come to attract the ship to rocky coast. Manatee lives in shallow water, gentle river, estuary, saltwater bay, canal and coastal areas. There is no problem for manatees to change from fresh water to salt water (Powell 1992). Manatee in Florida often travels to most parts of Florida. In the summer, several people traveled in Virginia and North Carolina. Sea water undergoes cold stress in water below 68 oF (20 oC) (Powell 1992). In preparation for the winter, manatee goes to hot springs such as natural hot springs and artificial power plants.

Manatee and dugong may have influenced the legend of mermaid. In ancient myths, sirens were monsters or ocean fairies who sang charming songs that invited seamen to direct ships to dangerous rocks. Seafarers may think that they saw a siren or mermaid when they might see a manatee or a dugong after a long voyage.