3o8 TYPES OF ANIMAL LIFE 



and is harmless and perfectly inoffensive. In deep water 

 it often floats with its bod}' much arched, its head and 

 tail hanging downward. In shallow water it will sup- 

 port itself on the end of its tail or will crawl about, only 

 applying the tips of its paddles to the ground. 



Manatees never voluntarily quit the water, not only 

 on account of their being so extremely unsuited for 

 progression on land, but also because (from the struc- 

 ture of their bodies) they cannot there breathe at their 

 ease. 



In 1878 a fully grown female was caught in British 

 Guiana, where they now seem to be getting very scarce. 

 On the voyage across the Atlantic it was kept in a large 

 box two-thirds filled with fresh water. This was placed 

 near the donkey engine, so that steam could every now 

 and then be passed into the water to maintain the 

 temperature of the latter at a steady warmth in colder 

 latitudes. Having arrived at Greenock, it was conveyed 

 to London by rail, warm water being occasionally poured 

 into its tank on the journey. During the night the 

 manatee frequently raised itself and tried to get out of 

 its box. After its arrival at the Westminster Aquarium 

 it was nearly a week before it would feed. Its owners, 

 alarmed for its life, then fed it by force. The water was 

 drained off from its tank, and three persons entering it, 

 inserted a cork in the forepart of the mouth, whereupon 

 some milk was injected by a syringe. The manatee, 

 though ordinarily exceedingly quiet and gentle in its de- 

 meanour, evidently objected much to the proceeding, and, 

 though obliged to swallow some of the milk, rejected what 

 it could, using so much force that it was all the three 

 men could do to restrain it. But neither then nor at any 

 other time did it utter a sound, nor attempt to bite or in 

 any other way injure its assailants, though floundering. 



