Steller’s Sea Cow!!

The skeleton and a model of what a Stellers Sea Cow would have looked like.

The skeleton and a model of what a Steller’s Sea Cow would have looked like.

Emily Spellman, Editor

Have you heard of a Steller’s Sea Cow? Probably not, because they are extinct! I think that this animal is really intriguing. I have heard of a manatee and it is like a big manatee. I am going to tell you all about the Steller’s Sea Cow!

What is the Steller’s Sea Cow?
First of all they were an aquatic animal which means that they live in water. They ate sea-plants and they looked like a manatee. (Which pretty much looks like a really big seal) Before they went extinct they lived in Russia and in Alaska. As you can imagine they had to have a lot of Blubber on them to stay warm in the cold Alaskan seas. Blubber would keep the Steller’s Sea Cow nice and warm while swimming in the ocean.

Why did it go extinct?
There are mainly two reasons why the Steller’s Sea Cow went extinct. One reason is because they were introduced to the sea otters which were overgunting so that probably didn’t leave much food for the Steller’s Sea Cow. And the other reason is because they were overgrazing, which means that the grass was also getting eaten at a very fast rate and getting eaten faster than it grows.

When did it go extinct?
The Steller’s Sea Cow didn’t last very long after they were discovered. When they were discovered there were only about 2,000 in the world, yet again this is only approximately the number that was left. And less than 30 years later they were extinct. So, it isn’t much of a shock that they went extinct so quickly after they were discovered. Nowadays we see similar animals like a manatee. Commonly known as “The Sea Cow”.

Extinction
Facts
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