Watch: Manatees Make Super Bowl 50 Picks

SARASOTA, FL — Fans who aren’t sure who to bet on in Sunday’s Super Bowl 50 might want to take some advice from a pair of football aficionados from the Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium.

This is the ninth year Buffett and Hugh have made picks for the big game. The two boast a pretty strong record for accuracy as it turns out. Buffett has been right with seven out of eight picks so far and Hugh five out of eight times.

The two football lovers are technically the aquarium’s species ambassadors, serving to educate thousands of visitors each year about wild manatees. They also happen to be highly trained in behaviors that support their care, aquarium officials say. As it turns out, one of those behaviors lends itself rather well to the critters’ annual Super Bowl picks.

“The training we focus on in our manatee exhibit revolves around husbandry behaviors, which help facilitate veterinary care, and research,” said Kat Boerner, Mote 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.”

When it’s time to make Super Bowl predictions, the process works much like target training, Boerner said.

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“We place a square PVC pipe structure in the exhibit with a photo of each of the teams competing in the Super Bowl,” she said. “Hugh and Buffett take it from there to touch one of the two team logos.”

So, who did Hugh and Buffett choose for Sunday’s game?

As it turns out, it’s a split decision. Buffett favors the Denver Broncos in Sunday’s game, but Hugh is banking on a Carolina Panthers victory.

Whether Buffett will keep his accuracy streak going or Hugh will turn out to be the best flippered prognosticator this year will become clear during Super Bowl 50. The game is set to start at 6:30 p.m. EST Sunday, Feb. 7.

As for Boerner, she seems to be backing Buffett’s play.

“I’m thrilled Buffett picked the Broncos,” the diehard Denver fan admitted. “I’ll be crossing my fingers he is right. Go Broncos!”

Manatees are native to Florida and are currently considered an endangered species by the federal government. With an estimated 6,000 manatees left in the wild, the species is under consideration for an upgrade in status to threatened.

To find out more about Mote, visit it online.

Photo courtesy of the Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium