Lehigh Valley Zoo’s otters correctly predict Super Bowl winners
Naya, the darker otter on the left, and Luani ravage the fish hidden in papier-mâché footballs at Saturday’s Otter Bowl. DANIELLE DERRICKSON/TIMES NEWS
Meghann Posthumus, left, and Matt Posthumus watch Naya and Luani, two otters at the Lehigh Valley Zoo. DANIELLE DERRICKSON/TIMES NEWS
Two otters at the Lehigh Valley Zoo offered their two cents on who would win Sunday’s big game the day before kickoff.
As it turns out, along with being adorable and fluffy, the semiaquatic mammals are also amateur fortunetellers.
The two North American river otters, a male named Luani and a female called Naya, exercised their foraging skills to sniff out the 2020 Super Bowl champions Saturday, choosing between two papier-mâché footballs filled with fish at the zoo’s annual Otter Bowl.
Each football bore the emblem of one of the two teams facing off for the title.
Luani, 6, and Naya, 11, correctly predicted the Eagles would win the 2018 Super Bowl. Last year, they were split. One otter chose the New England Patriots, the other picked the Los Angeles Rams.
But Luani and Naya were in complete agreement last weekend that this year’s Super Bowl would be dominated by the Kansas City Chiefs. They were released from their enclosure and darted straight for the football with the Chiefs logo.
One half of the crowd, which was split between Chiefs fans and San Francisco 49ers supporters, cheered.
Meghann and Matt Posthumus, of Telford, said they swear allegiance only to the Las Vegas Raiders and New York Giants, respectively. But they still made time for the Otter Bowl.
“We’re rooting for the otters,” Meghann joked.
Kayla Hollahan, a keeper at Lehigh Valley Zoo, served as this year’s “hype woman,” gearing up the crowd before Luani and Naya made their decision. A Chiefs fan, Hollahan was more than happy with the otters’ prediction.
“Andy Reid needs a Super Bowl under his belt,” she said.
Hollahan added that the Otter Bowl gives keepers a chance to demonstrate for visitors some of the otters’ natural behaviors, rather than just talking about them.
“We can say they love seeking out smells and rummaging through things,” Hollahan said. “But it’s really great for everyone else who’s at these events to see those behaviors in action.”
It seemed by the end of Sunday night’s game, Luani and Naya’s prediction might not come true. But the Chiefs pulled through in the fourth quarter, taking the game and title of 2020 Super Bowl champions with an 11-point lead.
So, to all the gamblers out there, take note and mark your calendars for next year’s Otter Bowl.
