Help Florida's World Famous Snooty the Manatee Celebrate His 60th Birthday: Your Kids Can Enter a Contest to Support Snooty and Species' Of His Kind

When Florida residents hear a reference to the South Florida Museum or the Bishop Planetarium, many of them think of the same infamous Florida mammal: Snooty the Manatee. According to the South Florida Museum website Snooty the Manatee is the "world's most recognized manatee" and visitors from all over Florida and the United States visit the museum and aquarium on a regular basis to see this incredible gentle giant for themselves.

Snooty took up his habitat in a medically treated pool, or view tank, at the South Florida Museums aquatic area known as the Parker Manatee Aquarium way back in 1949 when he was still going by his original name, "Baby Snoots." Snooty was born at the facility known as the old Miami Aquarium and Tackle Company and soon after was rescued by the South Florida Museum where he could be cared for efficiently and used for research as well as educational purposes to scientists and visitors to the museum alike.

Many native Floridians including myself can recall yearly field trips as a child to the South Florida Museum in which visits to the Bishop Planetarium never failed to precede the best part of the outing- a visit to see Snooty the Manatee.

Watching Snooty over the years was always everyone's favorite part of the field trip. As Snooty grew older we watched his tanks also grow and evolve to accommodate his needs. We also had the opportunity to many times watch Snooty eat his favorite snack, which if I can remember correctly seems to have been giant heads of lettuce while listening to the museum tour guide discuss fun facts about the manatee species and educational tips on how we could help to keep these gentle giants out of extinction.

The Parker Manatee Aquarium, as it remains now was apparently "designed to exceed Federal Standards" in terms of the requirements necessary to house such a creature as Snooty the Manatee for the purpose of preservation and education. The Parker Manatee Aquarium is identified as a "medication pool" and holds 60,000 gallons of water. Visitors and Museum Scientists alike can view Snooty and all his behaviors from a clear glass wall that exists both above and below the surface.

Snooty the Manatee was all by himself in this as well as previous other water tanks he lived in during past years at the South Florida Museum Aquarium and to be honest, as a child I always felt concerned that he was isolated from his species and alone.

I am pleased to read learn now, though, that in 1998, as part of the Manatee Rehabilitation Network administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Snooty the Manatee was given temporary friends and playmates in the form of younger manatees who were awaiting the proper health diagnoses to enable a safe return to their natural habitat in the sea. The manatee that can be seen accompanying Snooty today is a younger manatee named Newton.

This July, 2008, will be a particularly busy month for the SouthFloridaMuseum, the Parker Manatee Aquarium and Snooty himself, as Snooty the Manatee will celebrate his 60^th birthday. Snooty's annual free birthday bash will take place alongside of the Wildlife Awareness Festival at the South Florida Museum, July 19, 2008 from 10am to 2pm. Visitors of all ages will have a chance free of charge to observe Snooty, the gentle giant in this habitat he has come to know so well over a long span of his lifetime.

In honor of the big 6-0 Snooty's friends at the SouthFloridaMuseum and Parker Manatee Aquarium are hosting a contest for children in which children in through grade six can compete for prizes to make the best birthday card for Snooty that their creativity can manage. Prizes for originality and creativity for each age group will be distributed and the winners announced at noon on July 19^th, 2008 during Snooty's official Birthday Bash.

Students wishing to enter Snooty's award for the best Florida manatee birthday card may either send snail mail entries to: Snooty - P.O. Box 9265 - Bradenton, FL 34206 or they may have a parent or guardian hand deliver their entry birthday cards to:

South Florida Museum-Parker Manatee Aquarium
201 10th Street West - Bradenton, Florida34205 - (941) 746-4131.

The Deadline to participate in this contest is Monday, July 14, 2008 at 5pm and to be eligible for judging and awards, each entry must include child's name, home address, telephone number, child's age and his or her grade level in school (during the 2007-2008 school year). For further details contact Amara at 746-4131 ext. 11.