Still Waters Posted July 20, 2013 #1 Share Posted July 20, 2013 Snooty the manatee was born when Harry S. Truman was president, Columbia records had just released its 33 1/3 LP format, and people were still talking about how the NBC television network had broadcast Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in its entirety. Life in America, of course, has changed. But Snooty is still around, entertaining visitors, munching on lettuce and swimming silently in his tank at the South Florida Museum in Bradenton. http://ca.news.yahoo...-082239392.html 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunn Posted July 22, 2013 #2 Share Posted July 22, 2013 I hope I look that good when I reach that age. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa Greenman Posted July 22, 2013 #3 Share Posted July 22, 2013 (edited) Poor Snooty lives all alone in a small pool. I have seen him and fed him some lettuse. Kind of a sad life for a manatee. Edited July 22, 2013 by Darkwind 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundew Posted July 22, 2013 #4 Share Posted July 22, 2013 They should have gotten him a buddy or a mate, manatees are social animals. Aside from boat collisions they really don't have any natural predators so it's amazing that they don't all live long lives. Their biggest enemy is the cold, they don't have blubber like a whale and chill pretty easily. When record low temperatures come to Florida they are also plagued by pneumonia and a cold snap in that state killed hundreds a few years back. In winter they pack into Florida's springs where the water temperature stays a relatively warm 72 degrees; often there are so many you could almost walk across the river on them. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ash68 Posted July 22, 2013 #5 Share Posted July 22, 2013 I'm sure if he could talk he'd want quality of life rather than quantity 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d e v i c e Posted July 22, 2013 #6 Share Posted July 22, 2013 He's been robbed of his freedom and mollycoddled all his life. That's not what he wanted. Happy b-day great manatee. You will be free, one day. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonshadow60 Posted July 22, 2013 #7 Share Posted July 22, 2013 Has he been kept away from his own kind for all of that time? Oh, Lord. I wouldn't want to live so long without being able to communicate with anybody. The poor fellow. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa Greenman Posted July 22, 2013 #8 Share Posted July 22, 2013 They should have taken him to the park at Homasassa Springs. They have a big lake with Manatees in it and they have a viewing window under the water. I was amazed how they would interact with the people looking at them. I wasn't expecting them to be so playful. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lava_Lady Posted July 30, 2013 #9 Share Posted July 30, 2013 They should have gotten him a buddy or a mate, manatees are social animals. Aside from boat collisions they really don't have any natural predators so it's amazing that they don't all live long lives. Their biggest enemy is the cold, they don't have blubber like a whale and chill pretty easily. When record low temperatures come to Florida they are also plagued by pneumonia and a cold snap in that state killed hundreds a few years back. In winter they pack into Florida's springs where the water temperature stays a relatively warm 72 degrees; often there are so many you could almost walk across the river on them. I saw a documentary once that said they are often hit by motor/speed boats and suffer fatal injuries in the wild. Regardless, it's a slow, lonely death to be in captivity like that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eldorado Posted August 5, 2013 #10 Share Posted August 5, 2013 In jail his entire life. Poor Snooty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesspy Posted August 7, 2013 #11 Share Posted August 7, 2013 In jail his entire life. Poor Snooty. Now you put it that way I am sad. Poor Snooty. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claire. Posted October 23, 2016 #12 Share Posted October 23, 2016 Three years later, Snooty (now 68) is still around. There's a really cute video of Snooty included in the article below: Snooty is now the world's oldest manatee living in captivity, the Guinness World Records recently announced. The sea cow was brought to South Florida Museum as an 11-month-old calf in 1949. Now 68 years old, Snooty has earned the world record title. "We felt it was important to apply on Snooty's behalf, because we wanted people to understand that manatees can live for a long time," Marilyn Margold, director of living collections at South Florida Museum, said in a video for the Guinness World Records. "Taken proper care of, paying attention to their habitats, those things can help with their longevity. They are hearty animals overall." [Marine Marvels: Spectacular Photos of Sea Creatures] Though they may look hearty, most manatees living in the wild die before they reach the age of 10. Algae blooms, fishing debris and boat strikes threaten these gentle giants, which are listed as "vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Source: Live Science 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Still Waters Posted October 23, 2016 Author #13 Share Posted October 23, 2016 He's still going strong, good old Snooty and he has company now. Thanks for the update Clair 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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