According to a recent press release by Florida’s Mote Marine Aquarium and Laboratory, Hugh, a 38-year-old manatee, died in April inside the facility. As per the officials, the manatee suffered fatal injuries as a result of mating with his brother. The autopsy report also stated that:
“Hugh died from a 14.5-centimeter rip in his colon and other traumatic injuries caused by a s*xual encounter with another, larger, male manatee at the facility.”
The entire incident garnered reactions from the Twitter users, who commented under New York Post’ post and shared their opinion on the matter.
Netizens react to the incident (Image via Twitter / @JKSHhello)
The death of the manatee in Florida acquarium sparks reactions from the Twitter users
On July 28, 2023, Hugh’s cause of death was officially revealed by Mote Marine in a press release. The report stated that the animal care employees closely monitored Hugh since he had displayed a shift in his behavior earlier that day.
Moreover, he suddenly lost consciousness in the afternoon in his enclosure at the Marine Mammal Centre of Mote Aquarium. The crew in charge of Hugh’s animal care responded right away and eventually found that Hugh had passed away.
The creature died while being physically involved with his brother (Image via Associated Press)
As per sources like ABC7, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently completed the autopsy report on Hugh and found the marine mammal’s cause of death to be a fatal injury caused by “high-intensity s*xual behavior” with his older brother, Buffett.
The USDA also added in its inspection report that:
“The s*xual behavior continued throughout the day with periods of rest between high-intensity interactions and occasional penetration. At approximately 5:15 pm, the larger male was observed penetrating the smaller male again. When the larger male swam away, the smaller male was seen unresponsive at the bottom of the pool.”
It further stated:
“The facility failed to handle Hugh expeditiously and as carefully as possible to prevent trauma and physical harm, resulting in the death of the animal.”
According to the aquarium officials, Hugh’s managers never thought he was in any danger. In a statement made during a press release, the aquarium stated that Hugh and Buffett engaged in normal but heightened mating behavior on the day of Hugh’s passing, which has been observed and reported in manatees in several managed care facilities. However, this was the first time such intense mating behavior between the two manatees had been seen.
Nevertheless, this incident sparked much reactions online, especially from Twitter users. They took to the social media platform and shared their opinions under the post uploaded by New York’s Post. However, majority of the reactions were of humorous nature as most people made note of ‘Florida,’ the US state which is often jokingly cited as the place where bizarre things happen.
Netizens react to the incident (Image via Twitter/ @pcarnboy)
Netizens react to the incident (Image via Twitter/ @breakonthru234)
Netizens react to the incident (Image via Twitter/ @HeftySteelsak)
Netizens react to the incident (Image via Twitter/ @MMcgillicuty)
Netizens react to the incident (Image via Twitter/ @MaddoxThinking / @_The_Bayou_Boy / @carmella_nicole)
Netizens react to the incident (Image via Twitter/ @ly_archie / @crlkysr / @cchontal)
Netizens react to the incident (Image via Twitter/ @itlogmonster)
Netizens react to the incident (Image via Twitter/ @ronnibad)
Netizens react to the incident (Image via Twitter/ @jayandroy)
What are manatees?
Manatees are enormous, aquatic, and predominantly herbivorous marine mammals. Currently, the three known surviving species are the Amazonian ones, the West Indian ones, and the West African ones. For up to eight hours every day, they typically feed on seagrass and other aquatic plants. This is why they are also known as “sea cows.”
They are usually very shy creatures (Image via Getty Images)
These aquatic creatures can sleep while breathing at the water’s surface or fully submerged and are active during the day and night. They are also friendly towards people. Furthermore, they develop interest in people who do not show any interest in them. They’ve also been known to approach humans and snoop around them using their face’s delicate whiskers.
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Source: newstars.edu.vn