At 68-years-old, Snooty, the manatee, declared the oldest living sea cow by Guinness Book of World Records!

Snooty, the oldest living manatee, with his handler at South Florida Museum. (Image courtesy: Wikipedia)

New Delhi: Snooty, the lovable elderly manatee, has found his way into the Guinness Book of World Records as being the oldest living manatee in the world.

Snooty, who turned 68-years-old on July 21st, is the first manatee born in captivity and resides at the South Florida Museum.

His record-holding longevity is courtesy the controlled environment he lives in, which is a 60,000-US-gallons (230,000-litre) pool. He resides there with two other manatees.

Algal blooms, fishing debris and sometimes, even human-induced practices become the cause of their deaths, including boat strikes.

The manatee population was on a downward plummet due to the increase in use of marine life by humans, but they are currently protected, which has significantly improved their numbers. Earlier most manatees died before they even reached the age of 10.

The adorable sea cows, as they are also widely known, can weigh over 3,000 pounds, their diet comprising mainly of sea grass.

As per reports, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission that monitors manatee populations and performs routine necropsies/post-mortems, the oldest wild Florida manatee was 59-years-old, while the next in line, after Snooty, is 48-years-old.

Snooty is on friendly terms with his visitors and staff at South Florida Museum and bonds well with them.

Snooty is in the new Guinness Book of World Records (2017 Edition), alongside hundreds of other record-breaking animals.