Delayed by Hurricane Irma, Snooty Memorial Will Be Held Sunday

BRADENTON, FL — Tampa Bay area residents will finally have their chance Sunday to honor the memory of Snooty the manatee. Admission to the South Florida Museum will be free for a day of remembrance from noon to 5 p.m.

Snooty, who was recognized by the Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest manatee, was found dead in his habitat on July 23. Snooty’s death came just two days after the celebrity manatee’s 69th birthday.

“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, museum CEO.

This daylong celebration of Snooty’s life will include a visual tribute to Snooty that will be shown in the Museum’s Bishop Planetarium, opportunities for visitors to help create memorial projects honoring Snooty as well as visit the Parker Manatee Aquarium to learn more about Snooty’s true legacy: the Museum’s Manatee Rehabilitation Program, according to a press release.

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A necropsy conducted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission shortly after Snooty’s death revealed he died from drowning after becoming trapped in an underwater plumbing area in his habitat. He was able to swim in, but was too large to turn back around. The accident is believed to have occurred in the nighttime hours of July 22, shortly after the museum and community celebrated the record-breaker’s birthday.

An investigation into the death revealed that staff members at the Parker Manatee Aquarium were aware of problems with the panel that was intended to close off the plumbing area. The museum has since announced a number of changes to prevent a similar tragedy.

• Also see: Snooty’s Death: Staff Knew Panel Was ‘Askew,’ Museum Officials

Snooty had called Manatee County home since 1949 when “Baby Snoots,” as he was called at the time, arrived in Bradenton. He was a Miami native, born at the Miami Aquarium on July 21, 1948. Snooty became Manatee County’s official mascot in 1979.

For more information about the museum, visit it online.

Photo courtesy of the South Florida Museum