Remembering Snooty: Memorial Set In Creature's Honor

BRADENTON, FL — Tampa Bay area residents who want to pay final respects to the world’s oldest manatee will get their chance early next month. The South Florida Museum has set the date for a memorial open house in honor of Snooty the manatee.

"The Snooty Memorial Open House will pay tribute to Snooty's legacy, while we celebrate his remarkable life and all that he has brought to the museum and the world throughout his record-breaking 69 years," said Brynne Anne Besio, the museum’s CEO.

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The event is set to take place from noon to 5 p.m. on Sept. 10 at 201 10th St. W. museum in Bradenton. Museum entry will be offered free of charge during the memorial so that people can say their goodbyes to the creature who died following a July 23 accident. His death occurred just two days after his 69th birthday.

The celebration of Snooty’s life will include a visual tribute to the world-record-setting manatee that will be shown in the Bishop Planetarium. Visitors will also be invited to help create memorial craft projects to remember Snooty and tour his “true legacy: the museum’s Manatee Rehabilitation Program,” the museum said in announcing the memorial.

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The museum’s Parker Manatee Aquarium not only served as a permanent home to Snooty, it is also a rehabilitation center for other manatees. It is currently serving as home to three rehabilitating manatees – Baca, Randall and Gale. All three are expected to be returned to the wild when they are deemed in good health.

Snooty’s death rocked people across Bradenton and the Tampa Bay area. The creature drowned the evening after a community celebration was held to mark his 69th birthday. He was found dead in his habitat on July 23.

“Our own initial fact-finding shows that Snooty’s death was a tragic accident,” Jeff Rodgers, the museum's provost and chief operating officer, said in a statement released shortly after the accident. “We are heartbroken by Snooty’s death and no one wants to understand what happened more than we do.”

Museum officials explained the accident happened when a panel inside Snooty's habitat opened. The panel allows workers to access plumbing for the attraction through an underwater ledge. Snooty, Randall, Gale and Baca all swam in. While the three smaller manatees, who all weigh in under 600 pounds, were able to turn around and swim out, Snooty “was just too large for that to happen.”

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission performed a necropsy, confirming that Snooty drowned, a statement from the museum said.

The celebrity sea cow had aptly called Manatee County home since 1949 when “Baby Snoots,” as he was called at the time, arrived in Bradenton. He was a Miami native, however, born at the Miami Aquarium on July 21, 1948. Snooty became Manatee County’s official mascot in 1979. He was also recognized as the world’s oldest manatee by Guinness World Records.

Snooty fans are also invited to share their memories of the creature with the museum. The online memorial can be accessed on the museum’s website. Photos shared to the memorial page may be featured during the Sept. 10 tribute.

For more information about the museum, visit it online.

Photo courtesy of the South Florida Museum