West Indian Manatee Trichechus manatus in South America: Distribution, Ecology and Health Assessment

The West Indian manatee inhabits exclusively tropical waters of Atlantic Ocean, from Virginia, in United States, to Alagoas, in Northeastern Brazil, in a fragmented way. In South America, low species density and difficulty to detect the animals that inhabit areas with murky waters, associated with a lower financial investment in research in the past, lead to a delay in manatee research. However, in the last decade, an increase in manatee research could be noted in the continent. Nevertheless, a significant part of this information is available only on theses, conference abstracts, reports, etc. Thus, this chapter aims to gather and update important information on the species, mainly on distribution, spatial ecology, feeding habits, genetics and health.