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A Florida aquarium is attributing the death of one of their popular manatees to “high-intensity” sex with his brother.
A male manatee at the Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in Sarasota, named Hugh, suddenly died in April at the age of 38, after the staff noted he began exhibiting a change in behavior.
Earlier this week, a necropsy report of Hugh’s last day was released and it revealed that he died from a 14.5-centimeter rip in his colon, which was caused by an aggressive sexual encounter with another male manatee. That other male was Buffett, who is Hugh's brother.
A fecal sample was collected from Hugh after the encounter, which confirmed the presence of fresh blood.
Officials noted that the brothers had engaged in sexual behavior throughout the day. However, around 5:15 PM, the day of the incident, Buffett was seen penetrating Hugh.
Moments later, Buffett swam away. That's when witnesses discovered that Hugh was unresponsive at the bottom of the pool. It was later confirmed that Hugh was dead.
In a statement posted to Facebook, the aquarium said the manatees “engaged in natural, yet increased, mating behavior observed and documented in manatees both in managed care and in the wild.”
The aquarium said that 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.”