Rough Sex Between Brother Manatees Leaves One Dead At Florida Aquarium

A kinky rendevous between male manatees at a Florida aquarium has cost one of them their lives.

An adult male manatee named Hugh was housed at the Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium in Sarasota when he died back in April. Scientists sprang into action to figure out what happened to Hugh. They quickly learned that mating with his brother, Buffet is what caused his death. According to staff, the brothers had begun a “consensual” sexual relationship in the months leading to Hugh’s demise. However, they did not interfere with the relatives-turned-lovers, which proved lethal. Buffet, the larger of the two, would frequently mount and penetrate Hugh in his rectum. On April 29th, he did so again, but this time, Hugh sank to the bottom of the tank and became unresponsive. Buffet continued returning to his body to mount him even as Hugh lay not moving.

A necropsy found that Hugh had sustained extreme injuries from the rough sex. The most significant one was a 14.5-centimeter tear in his colon. The handlers at Mote claim they did not observe any “obvious signs of discomfort or distress” during the intimate encounters. Before he passed away, handlers collected a fecal sample from Hugh, which contained blood. Still, they chose not to keep the two apart due to fear of making either of them anxious.

The United States Department of Agriculture is not pleased with Mote, partially blaming handlers for not better protecting the smaller manatee, despite observing “high-intensity sexual behavior.” Mote fired back at the agency, maintaining that it did everything in its power to save Hugh.

“Mote acted within the professional standards and practices that we have observed throughout the 27 years Hugh and Buffett have lived together at Mote, and as recommended by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the Manatee Rescue and Rehabilitation Partnership,” the aquarium wrote in part of its statement.