The species was quickly wiped out by the sailors, seal hunters, and fur traders who followed Bering's route past the islands to Alaska, who hunted it both for food and for skins, which were used to make boats. It was also hunted for its valuable subcutaneous fat, which was not only used for food (usually as a butter substitute), but also for oil lamps because it did not give off any smoke or odour and could be kept for a long time in warm weather without spoiling. By 1768, 27 years after it had been discovered by Europeans, Steller’s sea cow was extinct.
I CAN believe it's not butter.
Slow moving, slow witted. I'm surprised the Dugongs and Manatees are not extinct
In contrast, the manatee has very low body fat. Its shape is due to size of its lungs.
They swam right up and frolicked with my kids on the Gulf Coast. Very cool!