where do manatees live

Manatees live in shallow, slow-moving rivers, estuaries, saltwater bays, canals, and coastal areas where seagrass beds or freshwater vegetation flourish. They inhabit regions throughout the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, the Amazon basin, and West Africa. Manatees move freely between fresh, brackish, and saltwater environments depending on the season and temperature, often migrating to warmer waters in winter as they cannot tolerate cold water below about 68°F (20°C). Specifically, West Indian manatees are found in the coastal and inland waterways of the southeastern United States (mainly Florida), Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. Amazonian manatees live exclusively in freshwater in the Amazon River basin, and West African manatees inhabit coastal and riverine habitats along the west coast of Africa.