Weekly News Digest from Mote
| 2/1/13: Friday's News@Mote: Manatees Predict Ravens Will Win Super Bowl! | | |
| Published Friday, February 1, 2013 |
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Manatees Favor Ravens Over 49ers In Super Bowl Matchup • Join Us for the Sea Lion Family Festival • Learn How You Can Join Mote's Volunteer Team • Share Some Love from the Sea This Valentine's Day with These Perfect Gifts • Boca Grande Lecture Schedule
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Mote Manatees Hugh and Buffett Make Super Bowl Picks:
It's All About the Ravens
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The manatees have spoken (well, decided, anyway): Their pick for Super Bowl winner is the Baltimore Ravens.
Hugh and Buffett, resident manatees in The Aquarium at Mote Marine Laboratory, each selected the Ravens to win Super Bowl XLVII during their training session this morning, Feb. 1.
Buffett has selected the correct team every year for the past five years. Hugh has been correct three times during the past five years. |
A close up of Mote resident manatee Buffett making his Super Bowl pick. He and Hugh both favor the Ravens for this year's super contest.
Photo credit: Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium.
Media: High-res photos and video are available. Please contact Hayley at: 941-374-0081 or hrutger@mote.org
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The two marine mammals selected their team by swimming to special targets marked with team logos. Both swam right to the Ravens, and Buffett nudged it twice.
“They seem to have some 'sense' of how the game will turn out…or maybe they’re just fans of Baltimore,” joked Joe Gaspard, manatee care and training and research coordinator at Mote. “After all, they’re big fans of the Orioles that have spring training here in Sarasota.” |
Manatee Buffett chooses the Ravens over the 49ers Friday in The Aquarium at Mote Marine Laboratory. Buffett has selected the correct team every year for the past five years. His roommate, manatee Hugh, has been correct three times during the past five years. Hugh also chose the Ravens today. Photo credit: Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium. |
Aside from being sports fans, Hugh and Buffett are the world’s most highly trained manatees. Training helps their veterinary care run more smoothly and allows the two manatees to participate in innovative research about their senses of hearing, touch and other sensory abilities.
For more than 14 years, researchers at Mote have been studying how manatees perceive and navigate their underwater world, where boat strikes and other threats are common. Mote’s research is designed to help resource managers protect these endangered mammals.
Key findings show that manatees:
- Have poor vision and probably cannot see fine details.
- Have good hearing over a wide range of frequencies, including the ability to hear pitches produced by boat engines despite loud background noise, and have a strong ability to locate which direction sounds are coming from.
- Have a keen sense of touch using their facial whiskers.
Now, Mote scientists are investigating how the manatees use sensitive hairs all over their bodies to feel water movement — an ability that may be important for navigation.
The two manatees are on exhibit daily in The Aquarium at Mote, which is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 365 days per year at 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway in Sarasota. Hugh and Buffett live in the Ann and Alfred Goldstein Marine Mammal Center at 1703 Ken Thompson Parkway, just down the street from the main Aquarium parking lot. For visitor information, go to www.mote.org, scroll over “Aquarium” and click “Visitor Information.”
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Feb. 9
Sea Lion Family Fun Festival at Mote |
Celebrate sea lions by having a roaring good time — bring your family to Mote’s Sea Lion Family Fun Festival from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9 in The Aquarium at Mote Marine Laboratory.
This special event celebrates Sea Lions: On The Water’s Edge — a limited-time exhibit running through the end of April in The Aquarium.
Guests can enjoy games, crafts and entertainment included with paid admission to The Aquarium (admission is free for Mote Members).
- Learn more about Sea Lions: On The Water’s Edge and view Aquarium admissions information at: www.mote.org/sealions
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Feb. 13
New Volunteers Needed at Mote: Learn More at Coffee Reception |
Now’s your chance to share the wonders of the sea by becoming a Mote volunteer. Join us from 10 a.m.-noon on Wednesday, Feb. 13 for a casual coffee reception and open house that allows you to meet area residents and snowbirds who volunteer at Mote.
The reception is in the Jean Purcell Hendry Conference Hall at Mote's Ann and Alfred Goldstein Marine Mammal Research and Rehabilitation Center, 1703 Ken Thompson Parkway in Sarasota.
Mote seeks Aquarium volunteers to greet and assist guests at our admissions, membership and welcome desks, to help in our gift shops and to educate visitors about our exhibits and animals. Volunteers are the lifeblood of Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium, supporting everything from cutting-edge marine science and education to administration and outreach.
Volunteers at Mote receive special training sessions with Mote scientists and staff and enjoy The Aquarium at Mote for free. Learn more about volunteer opportunities at: www.mote.org/volunteer
For more information and to RSVP for the reception, contact Lisa Kinsella at 941-388-4441, ext. 438, or lkinsella@mote.org. Current available positions are for ages 18 and older. |
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For Valentine's Day
Sweet Gifts and Activities for Sea-Loving Valentines |
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Get Cheek-to-Cheek with Sea Lions: Meet three Patagonian sea lions in the limited-time exhibit Sea Lions: On The Water’s Edge in The Aquarium at Mote, which is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 365 days per year, including Valentine’s Day, Feb 14.
Visiting the sea lions is free with admission, and guests can get their picture taken right alongside these furry marine mammals for an additional fee. Pictures start at $10 for a 4-by-6 inch photo.
Show Your Love by Adopting an Animal: For as little as $30, you can “give” your valentine a manatee, sea turtle, shark or other marine animal in The Aquarium at Mote. The lucky recipient will get a downloadable adoption certificate, photo and fact sheet about their animal. You can also choose one of our higher-level adoption packages that come with other great benefits. ($30 gift adoptions are available instantly via Web, while higher level adoptions include special gift items that will take about one week to arrive by mail.)
Try a Treat with Good Taste: Delight your eco-conscious valentine with the gift of Mote Farm-Raised Caviar. This delicious caviar comes from Siberian sturgeon at Mote Aquaculture Park, an earth-friendly fish farm where Mote raises sustainable seafood more than 17 miles inland using recirculated water. Mote Caviar is mild and smooth with small glistening grains that have a melt-in your-mouth silkiness — waaaay better than chocolate!
Where to purchase Mote Caviar:
- Florida’s Whole Foods Markets and Costco stores, along with Morton’s Gourmet Market in Sarasota (please call stores first to ensure Mote Caviar is in stock).
- Online at www.caviarstar.com or Costco.com
- Dine out at Jack Dusty, a brand new restaurant opening Jan. 21 that will feature Mote Farm-Raised Caviar as part of its raw bar and appetizer offerings. Jack Dusty is located in The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota, 1111 Ritz-Carlton Drive, Sarasota.
- Learn more: www.motecaviar.com
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Feb. 21
Mote’s New Lecture Series in Boca Grande |
Learn about fish and other marine species of Charlotte Harbor from the researchers who study them during Mote Marine Laboratory’s Boca Grande Lecture Series.
The new Series, which is free to the public, takes place at the Boca Grande Community Center, 131 First Street West, Boca Grande.
Schedule:
- 2 p.m. Feb. 21: The Snook Conservation Initiative: Protecting and Preserving the Charlotte Harbor Snook Population. Speakers: Dr. Aaron Adams, manager of the Fisheries Habitat Ecology Program at Mote, and Dr. Jim Locascio, postdoctoral scientist at Mote.
- 2 p.m. March 26: The Shark Initiative: Continuing a Legacy of Boca Grande-Charlotte Harbor Shark Research. Speaker: Dr. Robert Hueter, associate vice president for research in Mote’s Directorate of Marine Biology and Conservation.
- 2 p.m. April 18: Snook & Tarpon Stock Enhancement and Habitat Protection Initiative: Replenishing Fish and Protecting the Places They Live. Speakers: Dr. Ken Leber, associate vice president for research in Mote’s Directorate of Fisheries and Aquaculture and Dr. Kevan Main, manager of the Marine & Freshwater Aquaculture Research Program at Mote.
About the Mote-Boca Grande Partnership
Mote Marine Laboratory, based in Sarasota, Fla., recently opened a new satellite office in Boca Grande to help engage the community and region in tarpon and other marine research undertaken by Mote in Charlotte Harbor — the Lab’s original home — and Southwest Florida in general. The office is also designed to highlight new research directions designed to support conservation of area fisheries and habitat. The office was opened under the auspices of a community-wide grassroots committee to increase knowledge of — and support for — the region’s important marine environment and the conservation of it.
- Mote’s Boca Grande Office address: 480 East Railroad Ave., Unit 7, Railroad Plaza, Boca Grande (Note: The lecture series takes place at the Boca Grande Community Center, not Mote’s Office.)
- Mailing address: P.O. Box 870, Boca Grande, Fla., 33921
- Hours of Operation: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, Friday, Saturday
- Phone Number: 941-855-9251
Learn More About Mote’s Boca Grande Efforts at Free Coffee
- Join Capt. Philip O’Bannon, director of the new Mote-Boca Grande Partnership, for coffee and a chat at 3 p.m. on Feb. 8 in the Railroad Plaza office.
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Founded in 1955, Mote Marine Laboratory is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)3 research organization based in Sarasota, Fla., with field stations in eastern Sarasota County, Charlotte Harbor and the Florida Keys. Donations to Mote are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. 
Mote is dedicated to today’s research for tomorrow’s oceans with an emphasis on world-class research relevant to conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity, healthy habitats and natural resources. Research programs include studies of human cancer using marine models, the effects of man-made and natural toxins on humans and on the environment, the health of wild fisheries, developing sustainable and successful fish restocking techniques and food production technologies and the development of ocean technology to help us better understand the health of the environment. Mote research programs also focus on understanding the population dynamics of manatees, dolphins, sea turtles, sharks and coral reefs and on conservation and restoration efforts related to these species and ecosystems.   Mote’s vision includes positively impacting public policy through science-based outreach and education. Showcasing this research is The Aquarium at Mote, open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 365 days a year. Learn more at www.mote.org.
Contact: Mote Marine Laboratory, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, FL 34236. (941) 388-4441 or info@mote.org. |
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