Associated Press
BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) - The oldest living manatee in captivity turns 65 this weekend.
Snooty, who was born in Miami in 1948 and was moved to Manatee County a year later, lives at the South Florida Museum in downtown Bradenton.
He's the county's official mascot.
As it has each year for the past few decades, the museum will put on "Snooty's Birthday Bash," a big party to celebrate the aquatic mammal. The event is Saturday. Snooty's actual birth date is July 21, which is Sunday.
He's in good health and enjoys 80-pounds of lettuce a day. On a recent day, he hoisted his 1,000-pound body up so he could sling a flipper onto the edge of the pool. He pointed his face toward the museum's director and accepted a scratch on the nose.
