Theo Hill

Common Name: Manatee.

Scientific Name: Trichechus.

Classification: Mammalia.

Diet: Turtle grass, manatee grass, shoal grass, mangrove leaves, various algae, water hyacinth, acorns, and hydrilla.

Length: 8 to 13 feet.

Weight: 440 to 1,300 lbs.

Habitat: Shallow, slow-moving rivers, estuaries, saltwater bays, canals, and coastal areas particularly where seagrass beds or freshwater vegetation flourish. 

Endangered Status: Florida manatees are “threatened”—in 2017 they were downgraded from “endangered”—with myriad reasons why. … The West Indian manatee, which naturally lives to about 60 years old, became protected under federal law by the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 and the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

Behaviour: Manatees are a migratory species. Within the United States, they are concentrated in Florida in the winter. manatees are a migratory species. Within the United States, they are concentrated in Florida in the winter.

Life span: 40 to 60 years.

Litter size: a calf is born every two to five years twins are rare.

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Common Name: Komodo Dragon

Scientific Name: Varanus komodoensis.

Classification: Reptilia.

Diet: Komodo Dragons mostly eat large water buffalo, deer, carrion, pigs and even humans. They also eat smaller Komodo dragons.

Length: 8 to 9 feet.

Weight: 150 – 170.

Habitat: Komodo dragons five islands in southeastern Indonesia The islands are volcanic in origin, rugged and hilly spots, forest and savanna grassland.

Endangered Status: Vulnerable.

Behavior: They are also very capable swimmers, and males sometimes swim long distances between islands. Komodo dragons are solitary by nature. These carnivorous, meat-eating, predators normally hunt live prey, which they stalk by flicking out their long, forked tongues that are adapted to detect scents in the air.

Speed: Maximum speed on land 12 mph.

Defense Komodo dragons have sharp claws to grab predators and to dig burrows. They also have brownish grayish skin for camouflage, not to mention their venomous bite.

Life span: 30 years

Litter size: Eight to twelve eggs. 

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Common Name: Bald Eagle

Scientific Name: Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Classification: Aves

Diet:  Fish waterfowl and small mammals like squirrels, prairie dogs, raccoons and rabbits.

Height: 1 – 2 feet

Length: 35 to 37 inches

Weight: 6.6 – 14 lbs

Habitat:
Wetlands  seacoasts, rivers, large lakes and marshes

Endangered Status: Stable

Litter size: 2.3

Life span: 20 years

Behaviour: Immature bald eagles don’t develop their distinctive white head and tail until they are between 4 and 5 years old. The bald eagle is not picky about how it gets its food. It will eat carrion, steal fish from other birds or hunt for its own. All eagle parents take very good care of their young, and this includes feeding the eaglets all the food they can eat. As a result, the chicks grow very rapidly. The main part of the nest is usually made of big sticks.

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Common Name: Elephant

Scientific Name:  Loxodonta.

Classification: Mammal.

Diet: Grasses, small plants, bushes, fruit, twigs, tree bark, and roots.

Height: 11 – 8.9 ft.

Length: Asian elephant 18 – 21 ft.

Weight: 6,000 lbs 12,000 lbs.

Habitat: Savannas, grasslands, forests, deserts, swamps, mountains. tropical and subtropical regions of Africa and Asia.

Endangered Status: elephants our not endangered with about 450,000-700,000 still alive in 2019

Behavior: Elephants form deep family bonds and live in tight matriarchal family groups of related females called a herd. The herd is led by the oldest and often largest female in the herd, called a matriarch. Herds consist of 8-100 individuals depending on terrain and family size.

Life span: 60 – 70 years.

Litter size: 1 calf (twins are rare).

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