VIDEO: Girl Attacked by Sea Cow!

Sea cows are gentle creatures that feed on sea plants. They are friendly and harmless, but this woman didn’t know that. Or maybe she just didn’t know what was “attacking” her, because she started shouting and crying for help when she encountered one of these cute sea creatures.

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According to Live Science, the manatee is a large marine mammal with an egg-shaped head, flippers and a flat tail. Manatees are also known as sea cows. This name is apt, due to their large stature; slow, lolling nature; and propensity to be eaten by other animals.

However, despite the name, they are more closely related to elephants. Though they may seem like cumbersome creatures, manatees can swim quickly and gracefully.

Manatees range in size from 8 to 13 feet (2.4 to 4 meters) and can weigh 440 to 1,300 lbs. (200 to 590 kilograms). They have large, strong tails that power their swimming. Manatees usually swim about 5 mph (8 km/h), but they can swim up to 15 mph (24 km/h) in short bursts when they feel a need for speed.

Manatees often swim alone or in pairs. They are not territorial, so they have no need for a leader or followers. When manatees are seen in a group, it is either a mating herd or an informal meeting of the species simply sharing a warm area that has a large food supply. A group of manatees is called an aggregation. An aggregation usually never grows larger than about six individuals.

Manatees are herbivores. At sea, they tend to prefer sea grasses. When they live in rivers, they consume freshwater vegetation. Manatees also eat algae. According to National Geographic, a manatee can eat a tenth of its own weight in 24 hours. That can equal up to 130 lbs. (59 kg).

During mating, a female manatee, which is called a cow, will be followed around by a dozen or more males, which are called bulls. The group of bulls is called a mating herd. Once the male has mated, though, he takes no part in the raising of the young.

A female manatee is pregnant for about 12 months, according to Save the Manatee Club. The calf, or baby manatee, is born underwater. The mother helps the calf get to the water’s surface for air, and within the first hour of life, the calf will be able to swim on its own. In five years, the young manatee will be sexually mature and ready to have its own young. Manatees usually live about 40 years.

Manatees are thought to have evolved from four-legged land mammals more than 60 million years ago. Except for the Amazonian manatee, their paddlelike flippers have vestigial toenails — a remnant of the claws they had when they lived on land. The Amazon species name “inunguis” is Latin for “without nails.”

Manatees’ eyes are small, but their eyesight is good. They have a special membrane that can be drawn across the eyeball for protection. Their hearing is good too, despite not having outer ear structures, because manatees have large inner ear bones.