Where to see
Trichechus manatus
Everglades National Park leads · 4 parks ranked by real sighting rates
Share of wildlife watchers reporting a West Indian Manatee during a day in the park, from citizen-science data (GBIF)
| # | Park | Country | Sighting |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 4 | Big Cypress National Preserve | 🇺🇸 United States |
Everglades National Park
In Everglades National Park, United States, about 60% of wildlife watchers report a West Indian Manatee sighting on a given day, the highest of the 4 parks where we can rate it, from GBIF citizen-science data.
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and more
After Everglades National Park, the next-best odds of seeing a West Indian Manatee are in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (United States, about 40%), Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, about 30%) and Big Cypress National Preserve (United States, about 20%).
It depends on the park
In the top parks, the best months are December in Everglades National Park (about 70%), March, May and July–August in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (about 50%) and July in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve (about 50%), as the share of wildlife watchers who report a West Indian Manatee on a given day. Each park's West Indian Manatee page has the full month-by-month chart.
