BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) - A Florida museum has covered an aquarium hatch that contributed to the death last year of the oldest manatee in captivity.
Snooty died July 23 after the hatch came off the entry to a narrow passageway leading out of his tank at South Florida Museum's Parker Manatee Rehabilitation Aquarium. The 69-year-old manatee became stuck in the passageway and drowned.
In a Herald-Tribune report , museum spokeswoman Jessica Schubick said officials hoped that covering the panel would provide closure for some guests who found it to be a sad reminder of Snooty's death.
Schubick said the aquarium's interior was sanded and repainted, among other renovations in the manatee rehabilitation facility.
Two manatees that were in the tank with Snooty last summer were moved to SeaWorld in Orlando during the renovations.
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Information from: Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune, http://www.heraldtribune.com
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