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How Long Do Manatees Live?
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Manatees Can Live for Half a Century and More Undisturbed, manatees can
live for 50 to 60 years. The world's oldest captive manatee,
Snooty, was born in Miami, FL, in
1948 and now lives in the South Florida Museum and Parker Manatee Aquarium in Bradenton,
FL. Manatees may live for a long time but they reproduce at a slow rate. Females produce a calf only every 4 to 5 years. Their gestation period is about 13 months. Then the mother must spend
the first two years of a calf's life teaching it survival skills,
such as migratory patterns and the locations of seagrass beds. |
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