OCEANIC MAMMALS 541 



have been from the region of Brazos Island at the southern tip 

 of Texas; another from the same source was said to be from 

 Matamoros, Mexico, a short distance to the southward. In 

 July, 1911, a large specimen over 15 feet long was captured 

 near Port Isabel and kept in captivity. In the same and the 

 succeeding year other reports were received of manatees seen 

 or captured in the Laguna Madre, along the coast of extreme 

 southern Texas. In July, 1928, a dead one was found at Co- 

 pano Bay, slightly farther to the north, while in 1937 another 

 dead one was reported from eastern Texas, at Cow Bayou, 

 near the Louisiana line. Gunter supposes that all these cases 

 represent "strays from Mexico" and points out that occasional 

 cold waves might easily kill manatees in the northern part of 

 the Gulf of Mexico. 



Barrett (1935) has published some interesting notes on the 

 occurrence and capture of the manatee on the east coast of 

 Nicaragua, where, he writes, one of the best known herds on 

 the Caribbean coast inhabits the Indio River and its bayous 

 just north of Greytown. This group, variously estimated from 

 a few score to several hundred, appears to be stationary and 

 seems not to vary appreciably from year to year in spite of the 

 heavy toll taken by the meat-hungry natives. Hunting is done 

 at night, when the animals come in to feed from their places of 

 concealment during the day. "Families consisting of a bull, 

 a cow, and one or two immature calves, are usually met with; 

 these groups merge into a loose herd of from 10 to 50 or more 

 individuals living in a lagoon or certain stretch of river, con- 

 centrating during the day and scattering at night." Their 

 food here seems to be mainly the Para grass (Panicum molle), 

 which grows on the banks of fresh-water lagoons and rivers, 

 with its roots "in the soil above the mean level of the water 

 and the stems floating out some 6 to 10 feet from the bank. 

 Only the tender vertical tips of the stems are eaten, the portions 

 remaining in the water or forming a mat just above it being 

 never touched. " Mating is said to take place in shallow water, 

 and the single young remains with the cow until half grown. 

 Barrett states that the average adult is 8 to 10 feet in length, 

 rarely 12 feet. Three kinds of meat are distinguished: The 

 thick breast, back, and tail muscles, which are light-colored 

 like veal; the red steak of the pelvic region; and the fat spare- 

 rib slabs. "Bacon, salted and smoked from the belly regions, 



