Are you ready for some football? Mote Aquarium’s resident manatees Hugh and Buffett are! Come cheer on Mote’s manatees at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 1, as they predict the Super Bowl for their 10th year in a row.
Will they choose the New England Patriots or the Atlanta Falcons as winner of Super Bowl LI? Whether you’re a fan of the Patriots, the Falcons, or just manatees, you won’t want to miss the fun!
Hugh and Buffett serve as ambassadors for wild manatees. Each year, they help thousands of Mote Aquarium visitors learn about these endangered mammals and how to protect them.
Also, Hugh and Buffett are highly trained in behaviors that support their care.
“The training we focus on in our manatee exhibit revolves around husbandry behaviors, which help facilitate veterinary care and research,” said Kat Boerner, Manatee Research Supervisor. “By having the manatees trained to go to targets, we are able to maneuver them around the exhibit and ask them for a variety of behaviors, which helps during veterinary care and during our research focused on manatee senses. The Super Bowl predictions are much like target training; we place a square PVC pipe structure in the exhibit with a photo of each of the teams competing in the Super Bowl. Hugh and Buffett take it from there: They touch one of the two team logos.”
Buffett has accurately predicted the Super Bowl winner eight of nine times and Hugh has been right five of nine times.
Here is a record of Hugh and Buffett’s Super Bowl winner picks:
| Year | Winner | vs. | Buffett’s Pick | Hugh’s Pick |
| 2016 | Denver Broncos | Carolina Panthers | Denver | Carolina |
| 2015 | New England Patriots | Seattle Seahawks | New England | Seattle |
| 2014 | Seattle Seahawks | Denver Broncos | Denver | Seattle |
| 2013 | Baltimore Ravens | San Francisco 49ers | Baltimore | Baltimore |
| 2012 | New York Giants | New England Patriots | New York | New York |
| 2011 | Green Bay Packers | New York Giants | Green Bay | New York |
| 2010 | New Orleans Saints | Indianapolis Colts | New Orleans | Indianapolis |
| 2009 | Pittsburg Steelers | Arizona Cardinals | Pittsburg | Pittsburg |
| 2008 | New York Giants | New England Patriots | New York Giants | New York Giants |
Super Bowl LI will take place at 6:30 p.m. EST Sunday, Feb. 5, in Houston, Texas.
More about Hugh and Buffett
Hugh and Buffett are the world’s most extensively trained manatees. Training not only helps their care run smoothly; it also allows them to participate in innovative research about how they use their senses, such as hearing and touch to survive, and about their physiology. Mote’s research is designed to help resource managers protect these endangered mammals.