BRADENTON, Fla. — We couldn't tell you about Bradenton and Manatee County without talking about the world's oldest-known manatee, Snooty. He lived to be 69.
He was the county's official mascot and lived in the Manatee Rehabilitation Program at the Bishop Museum of Science and Nature for most of his life.
The director of animal care says that's not usually the case. Manatees will stay at the Bishop for a year or two in a 60,000-gallon habitat that resembles a spring.
“I think the exciting thing when people come here though is they don't know we — they don't know we do rehab. They don't know these animals get to go back to the wild,” Virginia Edmonds said.
Right now, there are two rescued orphans at the Bishop, Ripkin and Tober. Ripkin was found in Ruskin probably at about 7 months old. He had seven broken ribs and still has the scars from a boat injury. But as these guys are getting back to optimal health, they are packing on weight, eating 200 pounds of food a day.
“People always ask how somebody can survive on just plants and grow big on just plants, but I always say think about rhinos and tapirs and elephants, really large animals that only eat plants, but they have a digestive system that helps them get all that nutrient out of there to grow big,” Edmonds said.
They’ve rehabilitated 45 manatees at the Bishop over the years.