Manatees can grow up to 4 metres long and weigh as much as 600 kilograms — about the same as three large motorbikes. Despite their size, they are incredibly graceful swimmers, using their big paddle-shaped tail to move through the water in slow, elegant sweeps.
A manatee's day is mostly spent eating and resting. They eat up to 50 kilograms of sea grass and water plants every single day, which is why sailors used to call them 'sea cows'. They surface to breathe every three to five minutes, taking one big breath before drifting back down.
Manatees are very curious about people and sometimes swim up close to snorkellers and divers to investigate. Their eyes are small but their faces have whiskery lips that they use to feel and grab plants. When they rest near the surface, you can often see them just below the water, completely relaxed.
Haiti's warm coastal waters and sea-grass beds provide perfect manatee habitat. Sailors of long ago used to spot manatees near the surface and, in the evening light, sometimes mistake them for mermaids — and that is exactly how the mermaid legend is thought to have begun.