A West African manatee can grow up to three metres long and weigh as much as 500 kilograms - about the weight of seven average adults. Despite their size, they are extremely gentle and spend most of their lives eating underwater plants, munching through up to 50 kilograms of vegetation a day. Their flexible lips work like fingers to pull plants into their mouths.
Manatees are mammals, not fish, so they must come up to breathe air every few minutes. They breathe through two nostrils at the top of their snout, taking a quick breath and then sinking back below the surface. They can stay underwater for up to 20 minutes if they are resting. Baby manatees, called calves, can swim almost immediately after they are born.
In Mali, manatees live quietly in the Inner Niger Delta, feeding on the lush water plants that grow there during the flood season. They are very hard to spot because they move so slowly and stay mostly underwater. Local fishermen know them well and have traditional stories about these mysterious river creatures that have appeared in Niger River communities for generations.