Snooty the manatee lived just long enough to celebrate his 69th birthday.
Snooty the manatee lived just long enough to celebrate his 69th birthday.
Snooty, who lived at the South Florida Museum in Bradenton, was the oldest known manatee in captivity.
“The South Florida Museum is deeply saddened to share the news that our beloved Snooty has died, ” the organization said in a statement.
“Snooty’s death was a heartbreaking accident and the circumstances are being investigated so we can be sure we know the full details of what happened.”
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Manatees typically live to about 40 years old in the wild, although many are killed earlier during boating accidents.
The Florida manatee was classified as endangered in 1967 under the Endangered Species Preservation, but downgraded to threatened in March by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Snooty, who celebrated his birthday on Saturday in an annual event at the museum that typically includes a birthday cake made of fruits and vegetables, was born on July 21,1948, at the Miami Aquarium and Tackle Company and moved to Bradenton in 1949.
In 1979, the beloved manatee was named Manatee County’s official mascot.
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Snooty was found in an underwater area used to access plumbing for the exhibit life support system, the museum said in a statement.
An access panel door to the area appeared to have been knocked loose, allowing Snooty to swim into the restricted area.
Randall, Baca and Gale, the three other manatees living with Snooty, are fine.
The museum also said an animal autopsy will be done at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Marine Mammal Pathobiology Laboratory in St. Petersburg
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