During the course of the next day, April 12, the Nautilus drew near the coast of Dutch Guiana, by the mouth of the Maroni River. There several groups of sea cows were living in family units. These were manatees, which belong to the order Sirenia, like the dugong and Steller's sea cow. Harmless and unaggressive, these fine animals were six to seven meters long and must have weighed at least 4,000 kilograms each. I told Ned Land and Conseil that farseeing nature had given these mammals a major role to play. In essence, manatees, like seals, are designed to graze the underwater prairies, destroying the clusters of weeds that obstruct the mouths of tropical rivers.
Den volgenden dag, 12 April, naderde de Nautilus de Amerikaansche kust, bij de monding der Maroni; op die hoogte hielden zich groote troepen zeekoeien op, die, zooals ik aan mijn beide makkers vertelde, door de natuur als met opzet in deze streken geplaatst waren om de onderzeesche weiden af te grazen en daardoor de te groote opeenhooping van zeegras tegen te gaan.