170 

 THE TRINIDAD MANATEE. 



By J. H, CoLLENS. 



So far as I know this shy but interesting animal is now 

 only to be met -vvith in one part of Trinidad, viz., the upper part 

 of the Mitan or iNari^^a River in Hande de I'Est, though it is 

 fairly well known in other tropical and sub-tropical parts of the 

 Western Hemisphere, as also in some of the western rivers of 

 Africa. 



Its Creole name Lamantin is probably a corruption of the 

 words la manaiin, but it is better known to the outer world as 

 the Sea-cow, while in Demerara it goes by the more romantic 

 name of Mermaid. Old authorities on Natural History used to 

 classify it among the Cetaceae, but modern savants are disposed 

 to put it, in company vvith its near relation the dugong of 

 Australia, under a new order the Streniae. It varies from 

 eight to twelve feet in length, its head is rounded, the eyes are 

 Bmall and deep-set, eyelids imperfectly formed but capable of 

 contraction, Lps covered with bristles, no dorsal fin. the fore- 

 limbs or flippers paddle-shaped and terminating in something 

 like nails. The manatee has no posterior limbs, although in 

 fossil spt'cimens of the Sireniae, there have been found rudi- 

 mentary ones. Unique among mammals in one respect it has 

 but six neck vertebras. '1 he mouth is peculiar, in that the 

 inner cheeks are hnir-covered, and the hard horny palate above 

 and below is specially adapted for the bruising and pulping of. 

 its vegi'table food. For the manatee is a strict vegetarian whose 

 idea of elysiuni is to lie prone in the beds of tangled river grass, 

 where he can bask in the sunlight and munch the tender green 

 herbage at his leisure. He is mild of disposition, lazy and 

 inoffensive in manners ; when attacked he does not dream of 

 resistance, but seeks refnge in ilight, and considering his clumsy 

 and unwieldy bulk his locomotion is tolerably rapid. 



I had several times essayed to get a glimpse of the manatee 

 during one of my holidays sp^nt at the Nariva Cocal, but always 

 in vain, though I frequently observed traces of him amongst 

 the aquatic plants where he had been feeding. At last, one day 

 when Mr. li. Kdwin Legge and myself were being paddled up 

 the Mitan in a little corial or dug-out, by one of the Cocal 

 labourers, my patience met with due reward. This stream 

 always has a great charm for me, and I have spent many a lazy 

 hour drifting along with the current, improving my acquaintance 

 with Dame Nature, who is ever ready in these lonely parts to 



