The world's oldest manatee, 68-years-old Snooty, will be in the 2017 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records for the second time.
Born on July 21, 1948, Snooty has been living at South Florida Museum in Bradenton, US, since he was a calf. Living in a pool, which is big enough to contain 230,000 litres of water, he is accompanied by two more manatees.
The reason behind the longevity of this manatee is said to be the safe and controlled habitat he lives in. Manatees living in the wild often die at an age as early as 10 due to various factors like marine litter, algal bloom and boat strikes.
When it comes to wild Florida manatees, the oldest one is 59-years-old and the second oldest one ages 48, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. This commission keeps a check on the manatee population and conducts routine post mortems.
Snooty is considered to be the most popular aquatic mammal and was wished by his admirers all over the world on his 67th birthday in 2015. This friendly mammal loves to interact with people.
"He's definitely more interested in people than other manatees. He doesn't really seem to form bonds with other manatees, but doesn't seem to mind them. He really likes people," said Jessica Schubick, communications manager, South Florida Museum, according to guinnessworldrecords.com.
Snooty has also appeared in numerous other magazines writing about record-breaking animals apart from the Guinness Book of World Records.
