What do you give a manatee on his 68th birthday? Balloons — well, because balloons! And beets.

  • Snooty the manatee is 68 years old
  • He weighs nearly 1,200 pounds
  • Saturday event planned to celebrate birthday

Yes, those gentle vegetarian sea cows like beets for sweet tweets.

It's Snooty the manatee's birth week. And his caretakers at his home in the South Florida Museum in Bradenton are preparing for their annual blowout  Saturday.

They'll have free outdoor activities and reduced admission prices to visit Snooty. Birthday cards are pouring in for the annual contest with notes such as, "We all love you so much," and "I hope your birthday is super day!"

Saturday's event is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

It's another milestone for Snooty, the museum's resident manatee, listed in the Guinness World Records book as the oldest-living, captive-born manatee.

During Tuesday's Bay News 9 behind-the-scenes shoot, Snooty became very interested in news intern Christine Forbes. He leaned toward her, hoisted his 1,197 pound, 9-foot-plus body and peered into her eyes.

She smiled, and he hammed it up for the camera.

Because Snooty's vegetable and fruit birthday cake is such a big deal every year, Bay News 9 reporter Virginia Johnson opened her own vegetable drawer to see what humans and manatees both enjoy — in addition to the aforementioned beets.

Here's the lowdown:

  • Carrots: Snooty eats for treats everyday.
  • Pineapples: Snooty is crazy about this annual birthday treat.
  • Oranges: Snooty doesn't care about this citrus fruit.
  • Kale: Snooty eats this every day.
  • Romaine lettuce: Snooty eats this everyday food.

Snooty got his annual check-up in June, and doctors gave him a clean bill of health. So they approved some birthday sweets.

This weekend's planned festivities highlight the special place Snooty holds in the human community. And they also highlight the special place he holds in his own.

Snooty serves as a foster parent for manatees orphaned or injured in the wild. So far he's helped 30 of his kind, and he's got two tank mates right now, Icecube and Sarasolo.

"We are very lucky to have an animal like Snooty that's an iconic manatee," said Marilyn Margold, the museum's director of living collections. "It allows us to tell one educational story, and it allows people to see that these manatees are really intelligent animals."

No one knows how long manatees live in captivity. But based on their cousins, the elephant, Margold said they could thrive into their 80s.

Margold hopes the love for Snooty translates into a protective love for manatees in the wild.