Remembering Hugh, the manatee who died from having too-rough gay sex - INTO
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Remembering Hugh, the manatee who died from having too-rough gay sex

It’s Pride month, which means that if you’re getting your b**** busted wide open, you’re celebrating Pride the right way.

But not every rough sexual encounter is a good one: take it from Hugh, a manatee held in a Sarasota marine aquarium, who died after having a bout of too-rough sex with…his brother.

Hugh succumbed to his traumatic injuries back in April of last year, so why, you may ask, are we talking about this now? Because the story has resurfaced, for some reason. That reason being that HuffPost Queer Voices re-ran the story on their Facebook page this weekend. I mean, it is Pride month after all!

https://twitter.com/ihatejoelkim/status/1799489214100201937
https://twitter.com/weekend3warrior/status/1799301749532250200

So what actually happened to Hugh? The official cause of death was a large rip in his colon, thanks to his brother Buffett, whose appendage may have been too large for comfort. I feel like Samantha Jones would have the perfect riposte at a time like this.

Obviously the death of a majestic animal is not funny, especially one kept in captivity. But going out this way is iconic, as the gays must admit.

Though this news broke almost a year ago, it’s always good to remember our heroes fighting the great fight for gay rights on land, in the air, and perhaps most importantly, under the sea.


Henry Giardina (he/they) is the editor of INTO. He lives in Los Angeles. Past publications include the New York Times, The Believer, The New Yorker, The Paris Review Daily, The Atlantic, Film Comment, and Gizmodo. He is @punkgroucho on Twitter.