SARASOTA, Fla. — The Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals are preparing to face off this Sunday at Super Bowl LVI. Ahead of the big game, sports experts across the globe are predicting which team will be victorious.
Here in the Tampa Bay area, we turned to our local sports gurus to weigh in: manatees Buffett and Hugh at Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium in Sarasota.
On Tuesday morning, the sea cows made their official picks, both selecting the Cincinnati Bengals as the future Super Bowl LVI winners.
Manatee half-brothers, Buffett and Hugh, have been making Super Bowl predictions for 14 years. Buffett has a pretty good record, going 11-2 with his picks over the years. Hugh, on the other hand, stands at 6-7.
The animals made their picks using something called target training, Mote PR Manager Stephannie Kettle explained. A target was placed in the tank directly between the two team photos to draw the manatees over so they could then make their predictions. Aside from Super Bowl picks, target training is used for things like veterinary check-ups to monitor the animals' health, Kettle added.
Born at the Miami Seaquarium, Buffett and Hugh arrived at Mote in 1996. They stick to a simple plant-based diet of between 72 and 84 heads of romaine lettuce a day. The boys serve as animal ambassadors, spreading the word about protecting manatees in the wild, and are the only manatees in the world trained to participate in certain special research projects.
While we'll all be tuning in to the game on Super Bowl Sunday, will Hugh and Buffet be watching to see if their predictions come true?
“I don’t know how much they care if Tom Brady's not playing," Kettle joked.
You can watch them make their picks below: