---
title: "West Indian Manatee"
description: "Trichechus manatus — Mammals. The West Indian manatee, also known as the North American manatee, is a large, aquatic mammal native to warm coastal areas of the Caribbean, from the Eastern United States to northern Brazil."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/west-indian-manatee
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# West Indian Manatee

> Trichechus manatus — Mammals. The West Indian manatee, also known as the North American manatee, is a large, aquatic mammal native to warm coastal areas of the Caribbean, from the Eastern United States to northern Brazil.

- Scientific name: *Trichechus manatus*
- Category: `mammals` (Mammals)
- Habitats: `sea` (Sea & coast)
- iNaturalist observations: 11868
- Wikidata: [Q40261](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q40261)
- iNaturalist taxon: [46316](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/46316)

## Names

- en: West Indian Manatee
- de: Karibische Seekuh
- es: Manatí­ del Caribe
- fr: Lamantin des Caraïbes
- nl: Caribische lamantijn
- pt: Peixe-boi-marinho
- pl: Manat karaibski

## Countries with the most observations

US (10069), MX (266), BZ (147), PR (105), BR (52), DO (41), PA (24), BS (20), CO (20), GY (12), HN (10), CU (9)

## Summary

The West Indian manatee, also known as the North American manatee, is a large, aquatic mammal native to warm coastal areas of the Caribbean, from the Eastern United States to northern Brazil. Living alone or in herds, it feeds on underwater plants and uses its whiskers to navigate. It is divided into two subspecies, the Florida manatee in the United States and the Antillean manatee in the Caribbean, both of which are endangered and face pressure from habitat loss, pollution, and other human activity. The West Indian manatee is the largest living member of the sirenians, a group of large…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Indian_manatee

## Photo

![West Indian Manatee](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/west-indian-manatee/medium.jpg)

Photo: Samuel Paul Galick · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/38493659

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/west-indian-manatee?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).