Manatee dies of injuries from sexual encounter with brother at Florida aquarium

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A manatee that died in a Florida aquarium suffered fatal injuries caused by the other manatee — which just happened to be his brother.

Hugh the manatee died suddenly on April 29 at the Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in Sarasota.

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The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Marine Mammal Pathobiology Lab recently completed Hugh’s necropsy and found the cause of death was a fatal injury caused by “high-intensity sexual behavior” with his older brother, Buffett, NBC News reported.

“On the day of Hugh’s passing, Hugh and Buffett engaged in natural, yet increased, mating behavior observed and documented in manatees both in managed care and in the wild,” the aquarium said in a statement.

“This was the first time such heightened mating behavior was witnessed between the two manatees.”

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The report stated that Hugh suffered a “14.5 cm long tear in the ventral wall” of his colon.

“Hugh and Buffett were both observed initiating and mutually seeking interactions from each other throughout the day and there were no obvious signs of discomfort or distress such as listing, crunching, or active avoidance that would have triggered a need for intervention,” the aquarium said.

Keepers didn’t try to physically separate the manatees during sex, fearing it would cause more harm to the animals.

“Following the direction of the veterinarians, distraction rather than physical separation was chosen because separation has previously caused undue anxiety and negative effects in both manatees,” the aquarium explained.

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“In an effort to redirect the manatees’ attention and decrease undesirable behaviors, animal care staff used positive reinforcement tools such as high-value rewards and enrichment that had previously been successful.”

As the aquarium continues to mourn the loss of Hugh, it plans to redouble its “efforts to ensure our animal care operations meet or exceed existing and evolving policies, recommendations and guideline of the AZA, MRP, Animal Welfare Act, USFWS and USDA.”

Hugh was born at Miami Seaquarium and moved to ZooTampa before settling in at Mote on May 2, 1996, WZVN reported, where he served as an ambassador for his species, and routinely and voluntarily took part in manatee research studies.

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