The Bay area's favorite manatee is celebrating his 66th birthday today.

That's right, Snooty is 66. He's the oldest known manatee in captivity.

The South Florida Museum threw Snooty a family-friendly, conservation-themed birthday bash on Saturday.

Around 4,000 people celebrated the sea cow's birthday with games, free sweet treats and live music.

Brooklyn Brown, 8, wanted to make sure she came for all the festivities.

“You get to see how old he is and how big he has gotten,”  said Brown.

Fans wished Snooty more years to come as he munched on a cake of vegetables.

“Happy birthday Snooty! You’re awesome,” said 12-year-old Jared Barnes.

Museum staff wanted to remind visitors that when they see manatees out in the wild, look but don't touch. Manatees are an endangered species, and in the summer months manatees enjoy swimming and exploring the ocean.

“They are slow moving so we want to follow the boat signs that indicate when its time to slow down,” said Marilyn Margold the Director of Living Collections at the South Florida Museum.

Margold said boaters also need to clean up after a day of fishing.

“We have had incidents here where we have actually had manatees entangled in crab trap lines,” Margold said.

Manatees are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and Endangered Species Act. You cannot touch, feed or water manatees. Bothering them is punishable by a fine of up to $100,000 and/or one year in prison. 

"I think it's important to respect our friends, our friends of the sea," said Sara Webb, visiting from New Zealand.

In recent years the Bay area has had several people arrested for attempting to ride manatees or disturb them while they mate.