JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Paddy Doyle, a beloved manatee and long-term adoptee with the Save the Manatee Club, died from a collision with a watercraft near Jacksonville in April, according to officials.
Paddy was one of the oldest documented manatees, having first been spotted at Blue Spring in 1971 before it became a protected sanctuary. Save the Manatee Club’s Manatee Specialist, Wayne Hartley, remembers him as one of the first 18 manatees studied when genealogical research began there in 1980.
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He would visit Blue Spring every winter and summer months, and appeared in mating herds in Lake Monroe.
“Over the course of his lifetime, he dodged countless boats, adjusted to a changing environment as development in Florida expanded and experienced many changes to the environment of the St. Johns River that he was born into,” said STMC.
Read: 565 manatees were reported dead in Florida last year: Here’s what we’ve learned
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Over the years, additional protections to preserve manatees were implemented at Blue Spring and St. Johns River.
“Paddy Doyle is leaving behind a lasting legacy and will be sorely missed by so very many.”
Below is a tribute video created by the Save The Manatee Club:
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