ICYMI: Celebrate Snooty's Birthday Saturday

As Snooty the Manatee prepares to celebrate the big 67, the folks at Guinness World Records are honoring his longevity by naming him the “Oldest Manatee in Captivity.”

Snooty lives at the South Florida Museum’s Parker Manatee Aquarium. The Bradenton resident officially turns 67 on July 21.

“Snooty is a one-of-a-kind animal,” Brynne Anne Besio, the museum’s CEO, said in a media release. “Not only does he make history every day as the oldest-known manatee in the world, but he also provides valuable insight into the health and life cycle of all manatees.”

See Also:

• Snooty the Manatee Death Rumors Debunked

Snooty’s 67th Birthday Bash & Wildlife Festival is being staged to mark the manatee’s upcoming milestone. The event takes place July 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the museum and features games and activities, free cookies and drinks for kids and a big display of birthday cards submitted for the Snooty’s Annual Birthday Card Contest.

The bash, which takes place in Spanish Plaza and outside the museum, is free to attend. Entry into the museum, aquarium and planetarium will be offered at a reduced price all day.

Snooty has been a mainstay at the 201 10th St. W. museum in Bradenton since 1949. The critter was born in 1948 and was declared Manatee County’s official mascot in 1979,according to the museum. Snooty’s fame even reached national proportions when he was filmed on the “Captain Kangaroo” show back in 1982.

Last year, rumors about Snooty’s demise caused quite an uproar in the Tampa Bay area. Fortunately, those rumors were false and Snooty remains very much alive and well.

For more information about the museum, visit its website. To see Snooty in action, check out the aquarium’s live camera via the museum’s website.