"For He looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven.... And unto man He said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding." Job 28:24,28.
Few people have ever seen a manatee, because they live only in tropical waters along the southern Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States, in South America and a few other places. These mammals spend their lives under water, coming up only to breathe with only the nostrils at the top of their snouts surfacing.
Their skin is dark brown or blackish, without fur and when mature they may be ten feet or more long. They are quite gentle and affectionate toward each other, even exchanging kisses while swimming side by side and readily sharing any available food supply. Because they are clumsy and slow moving, they are unable to come out on land to enjoy the sun's warmth like a hippo can. However, the Creator has given them thick flesh and heavy layers of insulating fat which protect them against the cold waters.
Manatees look like inflated dirigibles, all the way from their big, bristly mustached mouth to their huge, flat, horizontal tail. Because of their appetite for underwater grass and plants they are sometimes also referred to as sea cows. Heavy and bulky, they are supported by an extremely large muscle along the whole length of their body as well as by a framework of strong heavy ribs. Movement through the water is done with their big tail and hind quarters, assisted by flippers up front. The flippers are paddle shaped and used to maintain balance as well as for digging plants from the ocean bottom.
The Creator has given them everything needed for their unusual way of life, including the replacement of teeth so vital to them. As their front teeth wear away from constant cutting and chewing of sea grasses, they drop out. Promptly all those behind move forward, and additional new ones soon fill in at the back of the mouth. Isn't that interesting? Evolution couldn't arrange that, but we know it is part of God's wonderful creation.
A female will have just one calf a year, born underwater and immediately taken to the surface for its first breath of air. She will often assist in this until it learns to go up for air without help. Holding the little one close to her breast with a flipper, she also brings it to the surface for nursing, keeping its head above all the while. Attentive to and protective of her baby, she occasionally gives it the treat of a "piggy-back" ride through the water.
Does God care about manatees? Yes, they have been under His watchful care ever since the time of creation. Did you know you are always in His care, too? The Psalmist was thinking of this when he wrote, "Happy is he... whose hope is in the Lord his God: which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is." Psa. 146:5,6. Are you one of these happy ones whose hope and trust are in Him?,