Manatees Have Long-Distance Sense of Touch

[Dave]

New research suggests that manatees' tactile sense is so finely tuned that the animals may experience "touch at a distance" - an ability to "feel" objects and events in the water from relatively far away. In recent studies marine biologists Roger Reep and Diana Sarko at the University of Florida in Gainesville found that the giant mammals are covered with special whiskerlike hairs that act as sensors. Together these tactile hairs form a kind of sensory array, the biologists say, possibly allowing manatees to detect changes in current, water temperature, and even tidal forces.

More... (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/01/070116-manatees.html)