This adorable young manatee was found beached when he was just a little baby and had to be rescued and cared for at a marina mammal rehabilitation center, and hopefully, will soon be released back into the ocean.

Animals in captivity need to be fed a balanced diet, to insure they receive all the nutrients they need to stay healthy, so he is given a couple of bananas a day, along with seaweed, grass and other vegetables. He used to be bottle-fed a special formula, as well, but he has been weaned, now that he is old enough.

Manatees eat a lot, but he particularly loves the bananas! He takes one as soon as they are thrown in the tank, dives, then emerges on the other side of it, where he can eat it without being bothered by the others. He then leans his face against the tank wall and simply savors it! It takes him forever to eat the banana, but he enjoys every second of it! It's hilarious!

The West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus) is the largest species of Sirenians alive. The Sirenia order also includes the Amazonian Manatee (Trichechus inunguis) and the African Manatee (Trichechus senegalensis).

The West Indian Manatee is currently divided into two subspecies, the Florida Manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) and the Antillean Manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus), although recent data indicates three separate lineages: one in Florida and the Greater Antilles; another in Western and Southern Gulf of Mexico, Central America, and Northwestern South America, West of the Lesser Antilles; and the third one on Northeastern South America, East of the Lesser Antilles. Evidence indicates that there might be hybridization with the Amazonian Manatee, in some areas near the mouth of the Amazon.

In 2017 the West Indian Manatee’s status has been downgraded from endangered to threatened, but it's essential to have stronger emphasis on preserving and restoring warm water habitats, and increase the reports of manatee boat strikes, in order to sustain this progress.