This manatee lives from West African coasts into rivers and brackish waters. It mainly eats aquatic plants and mangrove vegetation.
Its body is grayish brown.
African Manatees inhabit rivers, lakes and coastal waters. Turbidity makes observation difficult, motivating research into additional ways to detect their presence.
A 2023 Lake Ossa study compared visual, sonar and passive-acoustic methods at ten sites over twelve months. Passive acoustics produced the highest detection frequency.
Water conditions and invasive salvinia affected detection. Regional conservation combines surveys, rescue, education and community livelihoods to address hunting, bycatch and dam-related threats.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
Hunting, bycatch, dam entrapment and habitat changes are threats. Local networks support surveys, rescue, education and alternative livelihoods for hunters.