World's Oldest Manatee Dies at 69 in ‘Heartbreaking Accident’

Snooty, the world's oldest captive manatee, died in a “heartbreaking accident” a day after his 69th birthday celebration, the South Florida Museum announced Sunday. The museum said Snooty appears to have died after getting stuck in a maintenance hatch leading off the tank he shared with three other young rescued manatee. A panel door leading out of the tank that is typically bolted shut had been knocked loose. “The manatees had access to get into this tight area. The young manatees were able to get in and out of that, and it appears that Snooty was able to get into the area, but he was not able to extract himself from that situation,” said Jeff Rodgers, the museum's provost and COO, during a press conference Sunday. Many wild manatees only live to age 10. Earlier this year manatees were taken off the endangered species list and upgraded to “threatened” status. The oldest living wild manatee lived to 59 years old and the second oldest made it to 48, LiveScience reported.