Panel to chamber where Snooty died was loose day before his birthday

BRADENTON — Herald-Tribune photographs from a media event the day before Snooty the manatee's July 22 birthday celebration clearly show the panel to the chamber where he later drowned was askew and appears to be possibly hanging from a single bolt.

South Florida Museum officials say that the panel became dislodged sometime between the evening of the party day and the following Sunday morning, but have repeatedly said they don't know how.

The Herald-Tribune images call into question museum officials' contention that divers inspected the 60,000-gallon tank prior to the celebration and found no problems.

The images show very noticeable gaps around the door, suggesting that it already was loose prior to dropping open.

Snooty drowned after entering the compartment through the panel space and becoming stuck, museum officials have said. Manatees of his size — 1,300 pounds — are not capable of swimming backwards.

Jessica Schubick, the museum's spokeswoman, said the newspaper's photographs will be included as part of its investigation into the death of Snooty.

"We appreciate you sending us this photo. We will certainly be examining it, along with other images, both recent and historical, as part of our review of the panel," Schubick said in an email to the Herald-Tribune. "We continue to gather information and will release a summary upon completion of our review."

The museum says it is seeking a recommendation from the Manatee Rescue and Rehabilitation's 17 members, which includes the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, for help in finding a third-party to evaluate the incident.

"They (the FWC) are part of the leadership part of the Manatee Rescue and Rehabilitation ... and we know that they are offering any assistance, and we will take it," Schubick said. "They have all of the knowledge in this area and they can ID the appropriate experts to evaluate."

The FWC said it has not been formally asked to conduct an investigation, but as member of the manatee rescue group, it is participating in the recommendation of a third party.

A Herald-Tribune photographer covering the second session of a media photo opportunity on July 21, one day ahead of Snooty's 69th birthday celebration, captured the images of the askew panel. The museum had invited the media to attend sessions from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Friday.

Photographers were capturing images of Snooty from the viewing area above his tank and through an underwater vantage point in a museum board room. Snooty was in the tank with three other rehabilitating manatees — Randall, Baca and Gale — when Herald-Tribune photographer Thomas Bender said he photographed them from above at 1:30 p.m. before going to the underwater viewing area just before 2:30 p.m.

The panel seals any entry to a compartment that houses the plumbing for the life support system, which is screwed into a fiberglass ledge where caretakers interact with the manatees.

In the photos, the panel seems slightly ajar, tilted to the right with a visible black sliver of space to the top right and bottom left sides of the panel.

Staff of the museum said during news conferences this week that the divers check the inside of the tank every morning. They said it was checked on Saturday morning before his birthday celebration.

The Herald-Tribune photos were taken between 1:49 p.m. and 2:38 p.m. on Friday.

The manatees were being fed around 2 p.m. during the second session, Bender said, and "playing pretty hard, splashing" causing swirls and splashes at the top of the water. He said they were frolicking to the left, away from the panel.

No divers were present during the media session.