Snooty’s Death: Online Memorial, Probes Launched

BRADENTON, FL — As people in Bradenton and across the globe continue to mourn the loss of Snooty the manatee, the museum he called home for decades has launched a memorial webpage in his honor. South Florida Museum officials also say third-party reviews are under way to gain more insight into the record-breaking manatee’s death.

Snooty turned 69 years old on July 21. 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. “We are heartbroken by Snooty’s death and no one wants to understand what happened more than we do.”

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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 and three rehabilitation manatees in the museum’s care -- Baca, Randall and Gale -- 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 museum has taken action to address the panel, a statement issued late Friday, July 28 said. “The panel area is now reinforced with three half-inch, high-density PVC supports, including one in the middle, barring entry through the opening,” the statement said. Ten stainless steel screws have now replaced the four that once secured the panel at each of its corners, as well.

Snooty’s death also remains under review by regulatory agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In addition, the museum asked the Manatee Rescue and Rehabilitation Partnership to conduct a review into its procedures, protocols and facility, the museum announced Friday. The MRP is a group of nonprofit, private, state and federal entities that work together to rescue, rehabilitate and release wild manatees. The FWC and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service are members of the group. How soon findings from either probe will be made available is not clear.

Remembering Snooty

As probes into Snooty’s death continue, the museum has also launched an online memorial to Snooty. Photos and memories shared to the page and the museum’s Facebook page will be assembled at a later time to “document the unprecedented love that people around the world felt for this special animal,” a statement from the museum said.

"There here has been an overwhelming outpouring of grief and mourning at the loss of Snooty, who was beloved around the world," said Museum CEO Brynne Anne Besio. "The Museum staff and Board of Trustees share in this grief, as well as in the desire to cherish the memories of this special creature."

A public celebration of Snooty’s life is also being planned. Details and a date have not yet been announced.

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.

To share photos and memories about Snooty, visit the museum’s page in his honor or its Facebook page.

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Photo courtesy of the South Florida Museum