An occasional series where Mongabay’s founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Few creatures better embody the notion of peaceful coexistence than the manatee.

The West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus) inhabits the coastal waters of the Caribbean Sea. Its two subspecies, the ...

When the West Indian manatee first earned endangered species protection ... siege as climate change and human population growth wreak havoc on the manatees' very specialized habitat. More than 2,000 ...

While the Florida manatee, a subspecies of the West Indian manatee, can be found as far west as Texas and travel as far north as Massachusetts during the summer months, the marine mammals cannot ...