Beloved Florida Manatee Died of ‘High Intensity Sex’ With His Brother
Hugh, a 38-year-old manatee, suffered a tear in his colon after his brother Buffett was seen “penetrating” him at a Sarasota aquarium.

Reuters
A manatee at Sarasota’s Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium that was found dead earlier this year died of injuries caused by “high intensity sex” with his brother, officials revealed in a new report. The 38-year-old manatee, named Hugh, was found unresponsive in late April after staff reported observing an increase in “sexual behavior” between Hugh and his older brother Buffett. After Buffett was seen “penetrating” the younger manatee, Hugh was “seen unresponsive at the bottom of the pool. It was confirmed that he had passed,” ABC7 quoted a report by the United States Department of Agriculture as saying. It was later determined that Hugh had suffered a fatal tear in his colon as a result of the sexual activity. After Hugh’s death, the aquarium noted that it was the first time “such heightened mating behavior was witnessed between the two manatees.”
Given recent media coverage, please see below for an overview of the facts regarding the cause of Hugh’s death. pic.twitter.com/5aAHizMiwP
— Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium (@MoteMarineLab) July 26, 2023
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.