Manatees are mammals, which means they breathe air and must come to the surface regularly — usually every three to five minutes. They surface very quietly, barely making a ripple, which is one reason they are so rarely seen. Their grey, wrinkled skin feels a bit like a hard-boiled egg and is dotted with coarse hairs that help them sense vibrations in the water.
They have no back legs — just a large flat tail called a fluke that they wave up and down (not side to side, like a fish) to swim. Their front flippers are used for steering and for pushing food towards their mouth. They eat water grasses, hyacinth and other plants, spending up to eight hours a day feeding.
West African manatees are shy and live alone or in small groups. Local communities along the Gambia River sometimes call them 'water elephants' — and there is a good reason for that. Manatees are actually distantly related to elephants! Scientists can tell because of similarities in their teeth, their toe bones (hidden inside those flippers) and their thick, tough skin.
Manatees are protected in Gambia and are considered a special and lucky sight. Conservation groups are working with fishing communities to make sure nets are not accidentally left in places where manatees swim, so that these gentle giants can keep sharing the river with people.