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By Kathy Hagood, AAA Going Places
Snooty™ is the oldest living manatee to be born and raised in captivity. He also is the first manatee to have a “recorded" and documented birthdate. This gentle giant is permanently housed at Parker Manatee Aquarium at the South Florida Museum in Bradenton, Florida.
Snooty, originally “Baby Snoots" was born in 1948 in the old Miami Aquarium and Tackle Company, and sent to the South Florida Museum the next year.
Since then, he has become wildly popular with area residents and visitors. He’s even honored with a special birthday party each year.
Snooty’s current habitat, a 60,000-gallon pool, offers above-and below-water viewing for visitors.
Sadly, 58 year old Snooty is a part of a vanishing breed. Last year, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, a record number of manatees (416) died. Of those deaths, 86 were caused by boat strikes. Within the past decade more than 3,100 manatees have died from all causes, with over 760 of those animals killed by boats.
“The population can’t possibly continue to sustain mortality of this kind." said Patrick Rose, executive director of the Save the Manatee Club.
Members of the public can help by following safe boating practices, and following speed limits in manatee zones. They also can encourage lawmakers to require better protection of the species.
Florida downgraded the manatees from endangered to threatened last year, even though they are listed as endangered on federal and international lists. The Save the Manatee Club believes this change will further reduce the manatee population in Florida.
Researchers who are studying manatees, including Snooty, have found the aquatic mammals to be more intelligent than previously thought. Even so, it’s difficult for a slow-moving manatee to get out of the way of a speeding powerboat.
The average adult manatee is about 10 feet long and weighs between 800 - 1,200 pounds. It takes huge amounts of lettuce to feed Snooty and other manatees in captivity, who typically eat between 10-12 percent of their body weight daily.
Visit Snooty at the South Florida Museum or visit www.southfloridamuseum.org.
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