ABSTRACT
Manatees have been maintained in captivity since 1875 (Crane, 1881; True, 1884). Based on long-term observations of captive manatees and necropsy results from over 20 years, it appears that adult manatees are extremely hardy, with successful captive maintenance directly related to good water quality and nutrition (White and Francis-Floyd, 1990). In one study of pathology in 16 manatees, only one case of natural disease was described (Buergelt et al., 1984).
