What animal is known as a 'Sea Cow?'

Summary

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Who Smarted?

Episode: What animal is known as a 'Sea Cow?'

Date: November 14, 2025
Podcast: Who Smarted? – Educational Podcast for Kids
Host: Trusty Narrator (Atomic Entertainment / Starglow Media)
Guests: Mama Tea the Manatee, her calf Milo (a.k.a. "Momatee" and family), assorted animal voices

Episode Overview

This playful, science-filled episode dives into the fascinating underwater world of the manatee – popularly (and curiously) known as the "sea cow." With host Trusty Narrator and some very special aquatic guests, kids and families will learn what makes manatees unique, why they’re called “sea cows,” how they live, their connection to legendary mermaids, and – most importantly – what humans can do to help keep manatees safe.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Meet the Manatee Family

• Host jumps into a warm Florida river, encountering two friendly manatees: Mama Tea (the “momatee”) and her calf, Milo.
• Introduction to manatee daily routines:
  • “The big three. Swimming, sleeping, and eating. And that’s about it. In fact, we spend about 12 hours a day sleeping and seven hours eating. The rest of the time, we mostly float.” – Mama Tea [03:31]
  • Milo protests the “boring” reputation and insists manatees are fascinating.

Manatees and Mermaids – A Surprising Tale

• Fun historical tidbit: Christopher Columbus and his crew mistook manatees for mermaids.
  • “Christopher Columbus [...] wrote in his journal that he and his crew saw three mermaids rise out of the sea. But he said they weren’t as beautiful as everyone claimed. Huh. That’s probably because they were actually manatees.” – Milo [03:08]

Why ‘Sea Cow?’ and What Makes a Manatee a Manatee?

• “Sea cow” reference is explored:
  • Manatees have calves (babies), are big, love to eat, and mainly munch on plants—earning cow comparisons.
  • "Cows are noble animals." – Trusty Narrator [04:52]
  • Manatees eat up to 15% of their body weight daily, mainly seagrass and some algae.
  • “That’s like a human eating 10 pounds of food at every meal.” – Trusty Narrator [05:40]

Manatee Relatives – Not Who You Think!

• Although they share traits with cows and hippos, manatees' closest relatives are actually elephants!
  • “Our lips are prehensile. That means they’re capable of grasping food when we lift it up with our flippers.” – Mama Tea [06:51]
  • Manatees also replace their teeth throughout their life, like elephants.

Manatee Superpowers

• Fast facts:
  • Can swim up to 20mph in short bursts (usually about 5mph, 50 miles/day).
  • Have no natural predators due to their habitat and size.
  • Can live in both freshwater and saltwater environments, thanks to super kidneys.
    • “Most sea creatures can only live in one or the other. But manatees’ kidneys are able to control the amount of salt in our bodies, so everything stays in balance for us.” – Mama Tea [09:14]

Where in the World Are Manatees?

• Found in Florida, the Caribbean, West Africa, and the Amazon.
• Occasionally spotted farther north during hot summer months.
• Migrate to warm waters in winter, sometimes hanging out by warm water discharged from power plants.
  • “We figured out that power plants dump out tons of warm water [...] and it’s perfectly safe for us, so we can forget about migrating and just chill out there.” – Mama Tea [10:46]

Manatee Body Facts

• Most of a manatee’s body mass is digestive organs (NOT fat!).
  • “A manatee’s intestines can be up to 150ft long. That is half a football field.” – Trusty Narrator [12:02]

Manatee Intelligence

• Despite claims about small brains, manatees are quite intelligent:
  • Can distinguish colors.
  • Have a strong sense of touch.
  • Learn basic tasks as well as dolphins, but don’t perform tricks for fish treats.
  • “We even communicate like dolphins!” – Mama Tea [14:18]
  • Milo demonstrates (with a humorous jab at dolphins).

Manatee Dangers and Human Impact

• Main threats:
  • Boat collisions (leading cause of manatee injury/death)
    • “Almost every manatee I know has at least one scar from a run-in with a boat.” – Milo [15:24]
  • Toxic algae, hunters, and abandoned fishing gear.
  • Historical note: Steller’s sea cow was hunted to extinction in the 1700s.
  • Now illegal to hunt manatees; most people want to swim with them, not harm them, but interaction should be respectful.
    • “It’s important to remember that even if you mean well, not all creatures want to be handled. In fact, it’s illegal in most places to bother manatees.” – Trusty Narrator [16:28]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Mermaids? What do you mean?” – Trusty Narrator in response to Milo’s Columbus anecdote [03:07]
• “Don’t you call me a sea hippo.” – Mama Tea, joking about animal nicknames [05:17]
• “Manatees are the largest herbivores in the ocean.” – Mama Tea [05:47]
• “Despite being really big, we’re also sneaky fast.” – Milo [07:32]
• “Manatees are one of the few lucky ocean animals to have no natural predators.” – Mama Tea [08:29]
• “Most sea creatures can only live in one or the other [fresh or salt water]. But manatees’ kidneys are able to control the amount of salt in our bodies, so everything stays in balance for us.” – Mama Tea [09:14]
• “It’s not easy looking so cute and cuddly. Tourists love swimming up to mom and me and trying to hug us or jump on our backs for a ride.” – Milo [16:18]
• “Bottom line, you can look but don’t touch.” – Trusty Narrator [16:28]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:11–02:30 – Meet the Manatee Family
• 03:07 – Columbus sees “mermaids”—really manatees!
• 04:29–06:24 – Why “sea cow?” and manatee diet
• 06:24–07:27 – Manatee relatives and adaptations
• 07:32–08:54 – How fast and safe are manatees?
• 09:05–11:08 – Manatee habitats and migration
• 12:02–12:40 – What’s inside a manatee?
• 13:50–14:48 – How smart are manatees?
• 14:52–15:18 – Threats from boats and humans
• 16:11–16:40 – How to (respectfully) see a manatee in the wild

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Episode Tone & Style

The episode flows in a lively, humorous Q&A format, complete with playful banter between humans and animated manatees. Jokes, wordplay, and pop quizzes keep the learning fun and fast-paced: “A manatee’s intestines can be up to 150ft long. That is half a football field.” [12:02]

The tone is friendly and inclusive, encouraging kids to make connections and draw their own conclusions—always with good-natured humor and affection toward our gentle, underwater stars.

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Bottom Line

What animal is known as a 'sea cow?'
The manatee—one of the ocean’s most lovable, surprisingly smart, and truly fascinating creatures!

This episode equips kids (and grownups!) with memorable facts, a newfound respect for manatees, and practical reminders for helping protect them for the future.
“You can look but don’t touch.” [16:28] – In manatee country, that’s the truly smart move!

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Transcript

[A]

Hey, smartypants. Trusty narrator here.

[B]

I'm still feeling those great birthday vibes from WhoSmarted. Turning 5 years old, so many smarty.

[A]

Pants have reached out to wish us a happy birthday. I cannot thank you enough.

[B]

Even more so, I am so thrilled that hundreds of smarty families have taken advantage of our 50% off Happy Birthday subscription sale and have signed up for an entire year of WhoSmarted plus for just $19.98. That's just $1.66 a month to get all of the smarting, including a bonus episode every single week. Plus smart eqs and trusty trivia, all completely ad free.

[A]

Not to mention, you'll be supporting the.

[B]

Show in the best way possible so.

[A]

We can keep smarting with you.

[B]

However, this sale can't last forever, so be sure to sign up on or before November 15th to lock in a year of WhoSmarted plus at just $19.98. That's just a week more. So do it now. Subscribe by going to our website, WhoSmarted.com and click Birthday. Subscribe again.

[A]

You can only take advantage of our.

[B]

50% off sale by going to WhoSmarted.com and clicking Birthday subscribe on or before November 15th.

[A]

Thanks again and keep on smarting. And now it's time for who Smarted. Hey, smarty pants. Hope you don't mind if I splash around in this slow moving river as I record this episode of whosmarted. Ah, the water here in Florida is so warm. Swimming. It's almost like taking a bath. If only I had my rubber ducky to keep me company. Whoa. Looks like I might have company after all.

[C]

Hi. Mind if I join you?

[A]

Uh, sure. But who are you? Or should I say, what are you?

[C]

I'm a manatee and a mom. So I guess that makes me a momatee.

[A]

A manatee, huh? I've heard of manatees. Have you, smarty pants? Anyway, I am the trusty narrator.

[C]

Hiya, trusty. Meet my calf, Milo.

[D]

Hello.

[A]

Hi, Milo. Did you say your calf?

[C]

Yep. That's what a child manatee is called.

[A]

I did not know that. So, do you two swim here often?

[C]

Yep. We love it here. Just doing what manatees do.

[A]

And what is that?

[C]

The big three. Swimming, sleeping and eating. And that's about it. In fact, we spend about 12 hours a day sleeping and seven hours eating. The rest of the time, we mostly float.

[D]

Oh, mom, you make us sound so boring. We're actually pretty cool. Trusty narrator. Did you know manatees were the original mermaids?

[A]

Mermaids?

[D]

What do you mean When Christopher Columbus was on his way to discover America, he wrote in his journal that he and his crew saw three mermaids rise out of the sea. But he said they weren't as beautiful as everyone claimed. Huh. That's probably because they were actually manatees.

[A]

You don't say. Well, you might not be as beautiful as a mermaid, but you're still pretty cute for a giant, oddly shaped creature. And now that you're here, I kind of want to know all about you two.

[D]

You mean stuff like, we eat over 100 pounds of food every day and can hold our breath underwater for over 20 minutes and.

[A]

Yes, yes, that's exactly what I mean. But also, what exactly is a manatee? And why are you called manatee? And where do manatees live? And what can we humans do to keep manatees safe? Get ready for another big, wet whiff of science on who's smarted.

[E]

Who's smarted? Who's smart? Is it you? Is it me? Is it science or history? Listen up, everyone. We make smarting lots of fun. But who's smarted?

[A]

First things first. Mama Tea the manatee. I've heard there are a couple of different names for your species, smarty pants. Can you think of another name manatees are sometimes referred to? I'll give you a hint. Did you say sea cow? Momatees. What would you rather be called? Manatee or sea cow?

[C]

Which do you think?

[A]

Gotcha. Manatee it is. But you shouldn't take offense.

[B]

Cows are noble animals.

[A]

Plus, manatees do share a few things in common with cows. For example, calling your children calves. Plus, you're both extremely large.

[C]

I prefer majestic.

[D]

When I grow up, I'm going to be 13ft long and weigh 3,500 pounds.

[A]

That's around the weight of a male adult hippo.

[C]

Don't you call me a sea hippo.

[A]

Nope, nope. Not gonna do it. But like cows, manatees do have voracious appetites. And for the smarty pants, voracious means big or ravenous.

[E]

Nom, nom, nom, nom, nom.

[D]

You're not lying. Trusty manatees can eat up to 15% of their body weight every day.

[A]

Wow. That's like a human eating 10 pounds of food at every meal.

[C]

Not to brag, but manatees hold the record for being the largest herbivores in the ocean. Our favorite thing to eat happens to be seagrass. But I also get a hankering for algae once in a while, too.

[D]

Mmm, algae. Can we have that for dinner tonight, Mom?

[C]

Sure. Okay, trusty narrator. You Made your point. But while manatees may share some traits with cows, I can promise you we're very different.

[A]

For sure. In fact, manatees are most closely related to a totally different kind of animal. What do you think it is, smarty pants? Is it the hippopotamus, the walrus, or the elephant? I know we mentioned hippos earlier, but guess what? It's actually the elephant.

[D]

Manatees have trunks like an elephant, though ours are much shorter and look more like a snout.

[C]

But like an elephant's trunk, our lips are prehensile. That means they're capable of grasping food when we lift it up with our flippers like this.

[D]

We also have very tough skin, like elephants, and hair that feels like bristles. Here, touch.

[B]

Wow, that's pretty prickly.

[C]

We also replace our teeth like elephants. We grow new ones in the back of our mouths, gradually move up and replace the teeth in the front.

[A]

Ah, maybe I should call you Coelophens instead.

[D]

Despite being really big, we're also sneaky fast.

[A]

Oh yeah?

[D]

Oh, yeah. Most of the time, we like to casually swim along at about 5 miles per hour.

[C]

Which means we travel about 50 miles a day.

[D]

But if we want or need to, we can do a short burst at 20 miles per hour. Check this out.

[A]

Wow, you can really motor, Milo. I could see that coming in handy if you were being chased by a predator. Speaking of, smarty pants, which of these do you think are a natural predator for manatees? A, sharks, B alligators, or C orcas, AKA killer whales? Well, it's actually a trick question. The answer is none of the above.

[C]

Yep, manatees are one of the few lucky ocean animals to have no natural predators. While I'm sure any of those large fearsome predators you mentioned could attack us, we generally live in very different habitats, so we don't cross paths much.

[A]

Ah, speaking of habitats, do manatees prefer fresh water or salt water? Smartypants, which do you think? Let's find out. The answer is both.

[D]

Mom and I move back and forth between freshwater rivers and the salty ocean all the time.

[A]

That's pretty unusual, isn't it?

[D]

Yes.

[C]

Most sea creatures can only live in one or the other. But manatees kidneys are able to control the amount of salt in our bodies, so everything stays in balance for us. The only thing we care about is that the water is nice and warm.

[D]

Yeah, cold water, not a fan.

[A]

That's pretty interesting, considering your big bodies are similar to other sea creatures who like the cold. Like walruses, sea lions and beluga whales.

[C]

What are you saying?

[A]

Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. So where can manatees be found?

[C]

Manatees are mostly found in Florida and the Caribbean, along the coast of West Africa, and in the Amazon. Sure, you'll occasionally hear about one of us being spotted off the coast of New York or Massachusetts, but only in the really hot summer months. Otherwise, they must have gotten seriously lost.

[A]

Gotcha. Didn't I read somewhere that manatees migrate?

[C]

Yes. When winter comes, we want to stay in warmer water. So sometimes we'll swim inland to a warm water spring or go south like the birds.

[D]

But lately, we found a shortcut.

[A]

What do you mean?

[C]

We figured out that power plants dump out tons of warm water all the time, right into rivers and the ocean. And it's perfectly safe for us, so we can forget about migrating and just chill out there.

[D]

More like warmup. It's like our own personal hot tub.

[E]

Ooh.

[A]

Um, not to keep bringing up your size, but I'm surprised your big bodies don't protect you from getting too cold. Like the blubber on a whale.

[D]

Oh, boy.

[A]

I'm just saying, you seem to have a good layer of fatty insulation going on.

[D]

I can't believe you went there.

[C]

Trusty narrator that is not fat.

[A]

Oh, no, no, of course not. Everyone knows that. Hey, smarty pants. What do you think makes up most of a manatee's massive body mass? Is it A, air, B, their stomach and intestines, or C, chewy caramel yummy? The answer is B, their stomach and intestines. In fact, a manatee's intestines can be up to 150ft long. That is half a football field.

[C]

Clearly, there's lots of misconceptions or wrong information about manatees. For example, some people think we're not very smart because we have the smallest brain of any mammal relative to body size.

[D]

Yeah, everybody thinks dolphins are such geniuses, but manatees are right up there.

[A]

Wait, are you saying manatees are as smart as dolphins? What I'm saying is coming up right after this quick break.

[B]

WhoSmarted is brought to you by Squarespace. Now, you know I'm good about creating new adventures and episodes of Whosmarted, but you don't know that I procrastinate on other stuff, like a website for one.

[A]

Of our new projects.

[C]

Oops.

[B]

When the website builder Squarespace reached out about sponsoring WhoSmarted, I decided to test it out. And now I feel silly for putting off building that website. Squarespace's blueprint AI thing literally built me a custom website in minutes. I just told it a few details about the project and Boom. It generated everything. And everything you need is right there. I can schedule guest interviews, send email campaigns, even sell merch all through from one dashboard. Now it's your turn to stop procrastinating and start building. You can use Squarespace to launch that business site or any site that you've been dreaming about. But putting off today, there's no excuse anymore. Especially since you can head to squarespace.com smarted for a free trial. And when you're ready to launch, you can use code smarted to save 10% on your first purchase of a website or domain. That's squarespace.com smarted code smarted.

[A]

Now back to whosmarted. Okay, my two new manatee friends were just telling me how smart manatees are.

[C]

Did you know we can tell the difference between colors? And we have an exceptional sense of touch?

[D]

Also, we're just as good at basic tasks as dolphins. But because we don't beg for fish treats like they do, it's harder to get us to do tricks.

[C]

We even communicate like dolphins. Show him, Milo. Milo. That's not nice.

[A]

What did he say?

[D]

I was just expressing my opinion about dolphins.

[C]

Still, be nice.

[D]

Fine. Hey, trusty. Did you know manatees are great swimmers? Check out my moves. I can swim right side up, upside down, and do a barrel roll and even a somersault.

[A]

Whee. Hey, what's that noise?

[C]

Mylo, look out. Swim down. That was close. That trusty narrator was our arch enemy.

[A]

Hmm. Any guesses what that was, smarty pants? Did you say a boat propeller?

[C]

Because manatees swim so slowly and boats travel so fast, boat collisions are the leading cause of injury or death for manatees.

[D]

Yep, almost every manatee I know has at least one scar from a run in with a boat. I almost got my first one.

[A]

I'm glad you're okay, Milo.

[D]

Thanks.

[C]

Unfortunately, boats aren't the only thing manatees have to worry about.

[A]

Smarty pants, which of these can also be harmful to their health? A, toxic algae?

[C]

Ew.

[A]

B, hunters? Or C, abandoned fishing gear? Yep, it's another trick question, smartypants. But this time, all the answers are right. Luckily, it's now illegal to hunt manatees. But back in the 1700s, humans did so much hunting of the largest species of manatee, known as Steller's sea cow. It became extinct. That's terrible.

[C]

I'll say. Fortunately, today, most people would rather swim with manatees than hunt them.

[D]

It's not easy looking so cute and cuddly. Tourists love swimming up to mom and me and trying to hug us or jump on our backs for a ride, smarty pants.

[A]

It's important to remember that even if you mean well, not all creatures want to be handled. In fact, it's illegal in most places to bother manatees. So bottom line, you can look but don't touch.

[D]

Right on trusty.

[C]

Ahem.

[A]

Oh, and never ask them about their we.

[B]

A sea cow sized shout out to Hudson and Riker in Whitehouse, Tennessee. You told us you listen every night before bed. Well, we're so glad to be part.

[A]

Of your smarty family bedtime routine this episode. Manatees was written by Sarah Sweetick and voiced by Charlotte Cohn, Jason Williams and Jerry Colbert. Technical direction and sound design by Josh Hahn who Smarted is recorded and mixed at the Relic Room studios. Our associate producer is Max Kamasky. The theme song is by Brian Suarez with lyrics written and performed by Adam Texavis, who Smarted was created and produced by Adam, Tex Davis and Jerry Colbert. This has been an Atomic Entertainment production.