THE MANATEE IN FLORIDA WATERS 163 
Even to-day the Manatee is found in Florida, in the 
Banana, Sebastian, St. Lucie Rivers, and also on the west 
coast of Florida, from Marco Island down to Cape Sable. 
Its wanton destruction is prohibited by state laws, under 
penalty of $500 fine. Occasionally, however, a specimen is 
netted alive, under a state permit, for exhibition purposes. 
Two of the great cold waves of the past ten years unfortu- 
nately killed several individuals in the Sebastian River. Far- 
ther south it is found about the Isle of Pines, Cuba and 
along the east coast of Mexico and Central America, while 
another species occurs in South America as far down as 
southern Brazil. The flesh of this animal is light-colored 
and both looks and tastes like lean fresh pork. 
As the result of several years of inquiry, I am convinced 
that, strange as it may appear, in Florida the Manatee really 
is being perpetuated. The sentiment in favor of its preser- 
vation is almost universal, and there is ground for the belief 
that this is largely due to the wise liberality of the state 
authorities in granting a reasonable number of permits to 
capture specimens alive when the animals are ordered at 
high prices for public exhibition. I believe that there are 
more Manatee alive in Florida to-day than there were twenty 
years ago, even though at one time the species seemed doomed 
to speedy extinction in the state. 
Tue Dueone is the only living Old-World representa- 
tive of the Order Sirenia, and between it and the manatee 
the chief difference is found in the whale-like tail of the 
former. The Australian Dugong, which attains a length of 
14 feet, once was so abundant along the coast of Queensland, 
