You’ve heard of manatees. Perhaps you’ve seen one in a video or image. And now, you want to be with them in the water. But there’s one thing holding you back—you fear that a manatee can be hostile and bite you, and that fear makes you uneasy about being in the water with them.

Can a manatee bite you?

Well, no. A manatee won’t bite you!

Manatees are naturally gentle and docile creatures, and they love human company, too. When you float in the water and encounter them, manatees will monitor your movements keenly and tolerate you. If they sense that you are a danger to them, they will avoid you and move away. Actually, manatees will not attack you even if you behave inappropriately—though such behavior is highly discouraged.

Lack of biting teeth

The main reason why manatees do not bite is their lack of typical biting teeth. They don’t have incisors for biting flesh or canines for tearing flesh. Instead, the only teeth they have are molars, which are primarily used to grind food during chewing. So manatees are not dangerous because they lack the weaponry for aggression. Also, manatees have a snout that is shaped in a manner that prevents them from using their teeth to attack or bite.

Natural herbivores

Manatees won’t bite you because they don’t feed on flesh. They are generally vegetarians that survive by feeding on seaweed in shallow waters in harbors, lagoons and estuaries. As herbivores, manatees have only molar dentition to help them grind vegetation, and no teeth for grasping and biting flesh.

Since they consume a lot of plants that tend to hold and wear down their teeth, manatee molars are continuously replaced. New teeth come in at the back of the jaw and move forward horizontally about a centimeter a month while the front molars ultimately fall out and are replaced by teeth from behind.

No natural predators

Another reason why manatees do not bite is their lack of natural predators. Because of the absence of manatee predators in the wild, the gentle giants are generally not adapted for self-defense. That is, they do not have body weapons for attacking perceived enemies because such weaponry is often unnecessary. And although they are fairly large, they move too slowly to gather enough momentum to cause injury to humans and other animals upon collision. Besides, the body of a manatee is so soft that even if a manatee crashed into you, it would simply be like a slow nudge with a huge pillow.

Great buddies in the water

Manatees are beautiful animals that are curious, friendly and adorable, so you will have a wonderful time with them in the water. Upon realizing human activity in the water, the peaceful sea giants slowly lumber to the area out of curiosity. If they see you in the water and sense no danger, they eagerly approach and interact with you without aggression.

While in the water, you should adhere to manatee manners, which follow a rule of passive observation of the animals. Passive observation entails gently floating in the water with minimal noise and disruption, avoiding interaction with the animals unless they initiate it. As the animals are naturally curious, they will spot you in the water, move closer, and seek to engage with you.

No matter how closely you approach them or how nervous you are, manatees will not show aggression. Even if you’re thrashing and panicking—actions that could trigger some animals to attack out of self-defense—manatees typically won’t react aggressively, often choosing to move away instead. Being in the water with these amazing creatures poses no danger.

Misguided fear of manatee aggression

While manatees typically don’t respond violently to humans, their size and power can be intimidating. Some people have needlessly been scared when their boat capsized after accidentally colliding with a manatee. What they witnessed was a manatee attempting to swim to safety in deep water. However, these fears are mistaken because they are solely based on the perceived size and power of the animals, not their actual behavior.

This doesn’t imply that manatees lack behavioral aggression entirely. Like any animal, a cornered and harassed manatee may exhibit aggression to protect its life. For instance, when male manatees compete to enhance their breeding chances with receptive females, they may show aggression toward each other. Similarly, manatee mothers rarely tolerate threats to their calves. In essence, instances of reported manatee attacks are almost exclusively acts of self-defense or related to reproduction and resource monopolization.

Interested in swimming with manatees? Looking for an amazing outdoor adventure that includes an exciting encounter with these gentle creatures? Captain Mike’s Swimming with the Manatees offers memorable manatee tours in Crystal River, Florida. Our skilled and experienced captains guide the tours, ensuring respectful behavior around these amazing animals. Book your tour with Captain Mike’s for the experience of a lifetime. For more details, visit Captain Mike’s Swimming with the Manatees website.