Manatee Habitat Exhibit at the Mote Marine Laboratory Aquarium

Hugh & Buffett are manatees that were born at the Miami Seaquarium and brought to Mote in May 1996. While their move to Mote was originally temporary, state officials decided that they could help teach the public about sea cows by keeping the Hugh and Buffett at Mote Aquarium.

Today, Hugh and Buffett are the only manatees in the world that are trained to participate in research. Through their work with these mammals, scientists have learned much about how well manatees hear, how well they see and how sensitive their vibrasse – the hairs on the end of their snouts – are. Answering these important biological questions can help scientists understand more about Hugh’s and Buffett’s wild counterparts and give that information to the agencies that monitor this endangered population.

Hugh and Buffett eat about 72 heads of lettuce a day!