Can manatees hurt you?

Question

and i need proof not just guesses.

Answer 1

Well, I searched high and low and have found nothing written about a manatee caused injury to people. But, that does nor mean they don't occur. I would suspect there have been injuries, just not reported. There are many laws protecting manatee, it is illegal to touch one. A person would be a fool to admit having messed with a manatee, even if that person did get hurt.

Swimmers are warned about mother manatee with calf's. Therefore the potential for a problem exist. Knowing the human animal as well as I do, there has to have been at least one idiot out there that got in trouble messing with a calf.

Swimming With Manatees. A Tinge of Controversy
http://gorp.away.com/gorp/location/fl/manatee4.htm

We know people are injured while swimming with dolphins, both wild and "tame".

Personally and professionally I would like to see the practice of swimming with manatee stopped.

Answer 2

Can a manatee hurt you, you better believe they can. However in the wild it is near impossible and any other time it is more an accident type of incident.

They will not "attack" humans but due to their size they are like a slow tank in the water. There have been cases of people in the wild (who are either swimming or working with wild manatees) that have been smacked by the tail (by accident) or squished between the manatee and boat/shore/rocks/etc. But like I said, they are more or less accident situations.

In captivity it happens far more often. We have had numerous keepers as well as vet staff that have been injured due to an "upset" manatee. They have been hit by tails or squished between the manatee and a tank walls.

It happens, rare, but happens.

Answer 3

I think that any injuries ever sustained from a "Sea Cow" were inadvertant. They are slow, peaceful mammals, and quite frankly, don't seem to have a mean bone in their body.

However, they are quite large, and an inadvertant hit from a fluke would probably not feel very good. Like "Jim", stated, people have been injured by dolphins, although they were not attacked. A friendly dolphin or manatee is a very strong creature and may just want to play. Well their size and strength is far more than ours and could very easily injur you or me, and not mean it. My lab has scratched me pretty good while in a playful mood, and certainly did not mean it.

I do disagree with "Jim" though (no dis-respect intended) about banning swimming with these creatures. It is a great experience, I have swam with dolphins in the Bahamas. Something I will never forget. The key to protecting these creatures is for people to have more knowledge about them. What better way to learn about something than to be able to touch it. I would love to be able to feed a Manatee. Without getting personal with these animals, the mass of people will not feel the need to preserve and protect them.

However, I am against the captivity of these creatures in environments that are not large enough for them. Case in point, remember the movie "Free Willy".......In reality, that was a sad story.

Answer 4

"Do manatees ever attack people?
Manatees are very calm and peaceful creatures, not known to attack unless they are provoked. They often enjoy human contact, and may approach a swimmer or diver for want of a belly rub rather than to attack. You have no reason to be afraid of swimming in manatee-inhabited waters."
http://www.angelfire.com/home/oceanplace/faq.html

Same site warns, however, not to approach a manatee that looks like it is in trouble. " Manatees may be slow, but if they are angry they can really give you a slap with those tail flukes."


If you research manatees, you will find that these gentle creatures are more often the ones hurt by humans, not the other way around.

http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0215471/manatees.htm

http://www.learnersonline.com/weekly/archive2001/week2/index.htm

http://www.ptes.org/action/appeals/jul05.html

Answer 5

If a manatee fell out of the sky and landed on you, I can guarantee you would be severely injured.

A swimming manatee would probably not be capable of hurting you unless you cornered an injured one, and maybe not even then.

Answer 6

"If a manatee fell out of the sky and landed on you, I can guarantee you would be severely injured."

^ That made me laugh!

But yeah, manatee's are very peaceful, gentle, creatures. They wouldn't hurt you at all, unless you're in the situation above. =)

Answer 7

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Can manatees hurt you?
and i need proof not just guesses.

Answer 8

For the best answers, search on this site https://shorturl.im/DIrrn

Every vessel that planes or displaces water to maneuverer has a wake. Even canoes have a wake. Slow or No Wake Zones are not just for the sea life, they are also or may be for common safety. If boat A can ignore the speed posted then vessel B can and so on, then in a narrow channel there will be a slaughtering of people and water life. The other reason for No Wake is sound related, which is also an Aid To Navigation. Those No Wake Zones are not just for Sea Life, they are for every life. When a barge has to alter course to avoid you and hit a bridge or another vessel in the doing, well, that is just bad.

Answer 9

When I was in Florida I went to a Manatee place in Hamossasa springs which is along the west coast about an hour north of Tampa. The keepers were in the water with them.

They were feeding them heads of lettuce. They eat only plants.

There are also places where a guide will take you out on a see kayak to watch them.
The biggest problem is that they get hurt by the propellers of motor boats.

Answer 10

manatees hurt