With a county named after them, license plates with their depictions and parks promoted as the best places to view the gentle herbivores, known as sea cows, manatees are undoubtedly a part of Florida culture.
With a county named after them, license plates with their depictions and parks promoted as the best places to view the gentle herbivores, known as sea cows, manatees are undoubtedly a part of Florida culture.
But they might also be relatively new residents in the Sunshine State.
The evidence backing this theory is compiled in a research paper written by Thomas Pluckhahn, a professor of anthropology at the University of South Florida, and David Thulman, an archaeology professor at George Washington University.
According to their paper published in PLOS ONE, for centuries, manatees might have occasionally swum in Florida waters, but possibly more so as tourists than residents, staying for a short visit before returning to their Caribbean homes, such as Cuba.
Read more at: University of South Florida
A manatee swims underwater in the springs of Crystal River. (Photo Credit: Nalu Photo)
