APRIL FOOL: Manatees owe $125,000 after bad Super Bowl prediction

APRIL FOOL -- What started as a whimsical demonstration of how manatees are trained has become a sad tale of gambling and debt. 

Local sea cows Hugh and Buffett have delighted Sarasota people for years with their uncanny Super Bowl picks -- in Buffett's case an 11-2 record going into this year's game between Cincinnati and Los Angeles. 

Perhaps overconfident at recent success, both manatees chose underdog Cincinnati and backed up their picks with complex series of parlay wagers that could have financed Mote Marine Institute and Aquarium's Benderson Park expansion plans if successful.

They were not.

Now, both animals owe a pair of Las Vegas sharks about $125,000, with no way to pay. 

Buffett and Hugh looked away when approached by an Observer reporter.