Meet Romeo - the world's oldest manatee
He's old enough to be a grandpa!
- Published
Say hello to Romeo. He's 71 years old, lives in Florida in the USA, and loves to swim.
Oh right, and he's a manatee!
Otherwise known as sea cows, Romeo is the oldest manatee that scientists have ever met.
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He was found in the wild in 1957, and was thought to be between the ages of two and five at the time, making him at least 71 now.
The old boy has won a Guinness World Record, beating Snooty the sea cow who lived to be 69.
Snooty was the record holder until he sadly passed away in 2017
The life of Romeo the manatee
Romeo currently lives in Florida, USA
Romeo was first brought to Miami Seaquarium in 1957.
A year later, a female manatee was brought in to join him - and carrying on the Shakespeare theme, she was called Juliet.
They went on to have a baby in 1975 called Lorelei.
Romeo now lives in Gulfarium in Florida.
According to staff working with him, his favourite foods are romaine lettuce, apples and small pieces of sweet potato.
Manatee fact file
Manatees can be found in the Caribbean, near the West coast of Africa, and close to the Amazon
They're mainly herbivorous, which means their diet it mostly made up of plants
They have nails, found on their flippers
Manatees may look a bit like walruses or chunky dolphins but according to the National History Museum in London, they're actually much more closely related to elephants
They're quite slow, only being able to reach top speeds of 15 miles per hour
They can't turn their heads from side to side, as they have one less bone in their necks than most mammals
