With the help of a sloth referee, the Ripley’s Aquarium penguins have predicted that the Kansas City Chiefs will defeat the Philadelphia Eagles to win this year’s Super Bowl.
In previous years, the designated picker was Fleury, a five-year-old African penguin from Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies; however, her success rate has been less than stellar after picking the Cincinnati Bengals in 2022 (who lost 23-20 to the Los Angeles Rams) and the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021 (who lost 31-9 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers).
To improve their chances this year, Fleury and the TikTok-trending penguins from Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada were assisted by Ripley’s Aquarium of Myrtle Beach’s newest species, a two-toed sloth, who served as referee.
“It’s expected to be a close matchup for the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles, and we can’t fumble our penguin pick again,” said Ripley’s Aquarium of Myrtle Beach General Manager Pablo Chavez. “We brought in our sloth to help us slow down and really pay attention to detail.”
The Penguin Bowl marks Ripley’s sloth debut, with the all-new Sloth Valley habitat opening in late spring 2023 at Ripley’s Aquarium of Myrtle Beach.
Tune into Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada, Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies, or Ripley’s Aquarium of Myrtle Beach on Facebook for full coverage of Ripley’s Penguin Bowl on Feb. 11, 2023.
