What is the diet of a manatee?

Manatees are herbivorous mammals and their diet consists primarily of aquatic plants. Their diet includes a wide variety of plants, including seagrasses, algae, and mangrove leaves. They are known for their grazing behavior, where they swim along the bottom of shallow waters, using their large, upper lip to uproot and consume aquatic plants. Manatees have a keen sense of smell and taste, which help them locate and identify edible plants. Some specific plants they are known to consume include turtle grass, widgeon grass, shoal grass, and manatee grass. They may also consume some fruits, such as fallen mangrove fruits that float in the water. Their diet is largely dependent on the availability of these aquatic plants in their habitat.