Snooty Celebrates his 68th Birthday this July!

Photo Courtesy of South Florida Museum

I’m always thrilled to talk about my good pal snooty the manatee. Why you ask? Because Snooty will be celebrating his 68^th birthday this coming July 21^st! He lives at the South Florida Museum located in Bradenton, Florida. Add to that, the South Florida Museum also stated that the Guinness World Records has now officially recognized Snooty as the “World’s Oldest Manatee in Captivity.” The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported the oldest manatee living in the wild was 59 years old. However, a manatee living in the wild usually only lives to about age 30 due to serious natural threats of red tide and cold stress. And the unfortunate human threat of watercraft strikes.

Snooty was born on July 21, 1948 at the old Miami Aquarium and Tackle Company. Then in 1949, Snooty was transported over to Bradenton, Florida. Snooty has been living at the South Florida Museum’s Parker Aquarium all these years. And to date he has enjoyed over 1 million visitors and fans!

Snooty has been enjoying constant human interaction during all of his life and it’s reported that he even identifies the voices of his trainers! The South Florida Museum tells me Snooty currently weighs in at 1000 pounds and his length is 9 feet, 8 inches. Snooty’s girth measures in at 88.5 inches.

Snooty is Currently Hosting 2 Manatee Guests!

As of this writing, Snooty informs me he is playing host to 2 recovering manatees at the Parker Aquarium! Their names are Icecube and Sarasolo. They were brought to the Parker Aquarium in July 2015. Both manatees will be involved with the Museum’s Manatee Care Program until they’re fully rehabbed and are ready for the wild again. Out of the 3 manatees, Snooty is the largest, with his big paddle-shaped tail and two small indentations on his left side. These resulted from scars involving skin infections he had several decades ago.

Icecube was rescued from Charlotte Harbor in January 2015. Sarasolo was rescued from the Phillippi Creek in Sarasota on March 2, 2015. Both suffered from Cold Stress and were originally taken to Lowry Park Zoo’s critical care hospital in Tampa for rehabilitation. Manatees are warm-blooded marine mammals and need water temperatures of at least 68 degrees Fahrenheit to survive.

In a later blog, I’ll definitely give Snooty the awesome birthday wishes he deserves.

Here is the link so you can watch and enjoy Snooty LIVE at the Parker Aquarium…

http://www.southfloridamuseum.org/TheAquarium/SnootyCam.aspx

If you see any sick or injured manatees, please call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at: 1-888-404-FWCC. They are the folks who are responsible for rescuing us in Florida.

Here’s the Save the Manatee Club link to learn more about us manatees …

www.savethemanatee.org

Here’s a cool link for you to learn more about how we’re rescued and brought into rehabilitation …

www.wildtracks.org

~ Kobee Manatee

Snooty the Manatee Turns 66! (July 17, 2014)

Snooty the Manatee Celebrates his 67th Birthday this Month!