Previously, there was a consensus that manatees were perceived as dull-witted animals. Naturally, this belief was based on observations of the animals in their natural habitat and on studies of their brains. But, the conclusions were made without a close opportunity to interact with a manatee. Due to their large size and leisurely movement, observing manatees in their natural habitat often suggested limited intelligence. Similarly, the manatee brain, roughly the size of a softball, lacks the folds associated with higher brain activity. As a result, studies of manatee brains often led researchers to conclude that their cognitive capabilities were relatively modest.
Perceptions Disapproved
But that was before Snooty appeared in the scene and helped unravel the hidden gem that is a manatee brain. Snooty was a male Florida manatee that lived fro July 21, 1948 to July 23, 2017. The male manatee resided at the South Florida Museum’s Parker Manatee Aquarium in Bradenton, Florida. Snooty’s birth marked one of the earliest recorded captive manatee births. He later became the oldest manatee in captivity. He passed away at 69 years old and potentially holds the title of the world’s oldest manatee. Snooty was a manatee with regular human interaction. This allows for a comprehensive study of various aspects of the animals, including their memory.
During his years in captivity, researchers discovered that Snooty could remember the voices of former keepers. He can recall the training behaviors he had learned at just one-year-old. In laboratory experiments at the Mote Marine Laboratory, researchers demonstrated that Snooty was capable of performing experimental tasks similar to dolphins. This disapproved the previously held notion that manatees were unintelligent.
Likewise, researchers conducted auditory and visual tests on Snooty to understand why many manatees were getting hit by boat propellers. The goal was to determine why they often failed to avoid collisions despite being capable of moving out of harm’s way. The tests proved that manatees could hear and see well. In fact, researchers conducted lateralization testing on Snooty to assess manatees’ tendency to move left or right. The study revealed that when stimulated, manatees tend to favor the left. This could make them susceptible to boat collisions when boaters are unaware of this behavior. With that, boaters can now anticipate manatees’ leftward movement upon encountering an approaching watercraft, allowing them to avoid collisions.
So do manatees have long-term memory?
Well, yes. Manatees are gentle and docile grazers, displaying curiosity and friendliness towards both humans and other animals. They also possess intelligence and exhibit cleverness. They can learn new things and activities and have remarkable long-term memory. In fact, manatees are memory-driven. For example, they remember to return to their sanctuaries and migrate to the warm water springs and power plant effluents to survive the winter. Manatees consistently appear in the same locations year after year. Those dependent on power plant effluents return to these areas, often unaware of other nearby warm water spots. This is a clear demonstration of their long-term memory.
Through visual, acoustic and auditory studies, it has also been demonstrated that manatees have advanced long-term memory. Though they do not have great eyesight, manatees see in color and are able to recognize people and boats in the water. They also hear sound well and are able to hear boat motors and recognize the voices of individual people. Since they can recognize sounds and voices, manatees can follow instructions presented to them in a friendly, simple, and consistent manner. The animals can be trained and utilize what they have been taught to enhance the quality of their lives. Similarly, manatees possess advanced learning capabilities. It only takes two weeks to six months to be conditioned for specific behaviors.
When does learning begin in manatees?
Like other juveniles, baby manatees look up to adult manatees to know what to do, where to go, and what to eat. In fact, soon after birth, calves learn from their mothers and have to use their memory to retain the information they need to survive in their environment. The adult manatees tolerate, protect and care for the young ones, helping them adjust to their environment and learn new things. As they grow, the young manatees learn to socialize easily with other manatees, particularly the art of bonding and co-existing with others.
Once they have learned something, manatees retain it in their long-term memory and apply it in future to improve their lives. For instance, manatees learn to detect cold weather and migrate to warmer waters when they are young. They also get to know the passageways or travel corridors used to move back and forth between their summer and winter habitats. In fact, if their mothers have preferred habitats, young manatees learn to travel to those areas and tend to prefer and return to those habitats every wintering season.
Is there a danger in manatee interactions with humans?
Although manatee interactions with humans in their natural habitat is a glorious experience, being accustomed to people may alter the animal’s behavior in the wild, possibly causing them to lose their fear of boats and humans. In turn, this would make them more vulnerable to harm. And so interactions with manatees should always be limited to passive observation with actions such as feeding, touching or giving them water prohibited.
At Captain Mike’s, we offer manatee tours based on observation and a respectful and caring attitude toward the animals and their habitat. We’ll provide you with snorkeling gear in order to keep your time in the water as less disruptive to the animals as possible. We also educate you on manatees and manatee habitats and guide you in the water with a knowledgeable, experienced and certified captain. For more information on manatees and manatee tours, visit Captain Mike’s Swimming with the Manatees website.