Mote experts disagree on outcome of Superbowl 50

Hugh and Buffett may not have much interest in football, being marine mammals, but that doesn’t stop them from making predictions about each year’s Superbowl winner.

On Feb. 4, Mote’s resident manatees, crowd-pleasers and sports forecasters, Hugh and Buffett, made their annual predictions for the outcome of Superbowl 50, to take place on Feb. 7.

“Every year for the past nine years we have placed a PVC structure with NFL team logos on either side of the structure in the exhibit with Hugh and Buffett,” said Kat Boerner, Manatee Research Supervisor. “Much like their target training, which revolves around research husbandry behaviors to help facilitate veterinary care, the manatees touch either side of the PVC structure to choose which team they think will win in the Super Bowl.”

According to a press release from Mote, training helps the manatees’ veterinary care run more smoothly and allows them to participate in research about how they use their senses, such as hearing and touch, to survive, and about their physiology.

Buffett has the more accurate record, having chosen the winner correctly eight of the last nine years. Hugh’s predictions have been correct five out of eight times – not significantly different than flipping a coin.

Hugh picked the Carolina Panthers to win, and Buffett chose the Denver Broncos.

Because they chose different teams, Hugh could close his accuracy gap if his team wins. His current success rate is 63% over eight games. Buffett’s rate is 89% over nine games.

If the Panthers maul the Broncos, Hugh’s rate will jump to 67% and Buffett’s will fall to 80%.

If the Broncos stomp the Panthers, however, Buffett’s accuracy rises to 90% and Hugh’s falls to 56%.

Neither manatee predicted a point spread or total yards run for either team.