Maritime Aquarium Seal Picks Bengals To Win Super Bowl LVI

NORWALK, CT — As fans of the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals gear up for Super Bowl LVI, a seal at the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk has already picked the Bengals to come out on top Sunday.

Rasal, a 36-year-old harbor seal, chose Cincinnati during the aquarium's 11th annual Seal Super Bowl Pick event Tuesday, in which two footballs bearing the logos of the Rams and Bengals were tossed into the exhibit.

Given a choice between the two, Rasal immediately raced after the small black Bengals football and brought it back to Senior Aquarist Dylan Salamone, making her pick official.

Aquarium Spokesperson Dave Sigworth noted Rasal's lifetime record for Super Bowl picks is 1-2, with her one correct pick also being against the Rams in 2019.

"It's a risky bet, because she's going with the underdog this year," Sigworth said to Patch. "I think the Rams are [favored], but they've picked against the odds-makers before, and sometimes they're right, sometimes they're wrong."

In 2012, Rasal picked the New England Patriots to win the big game, however they ultimately lost to the New York Giants by a score of 21-17.

In 2019, she picked the Patriots again to beat the Rams in Super Bowl LIII, which they did. The following year, Rasal chose the San Francisco 49ers to win, however the team lost to the Kansas City Chiefs by a score of 31-20.

Other seals at the aquarium have made picks in pervious years. To date, the seals are 4-6 in their picks, Sigworth said.

"The most amusing thing to us," Sigworth said, "is that we have people who, after we've put it out on social media and publicized the pick, almost every year we have people react going 'oh that seal doesn't know what they're talking about,' and we have to tell them 'we know, it's a seal.' It's just for fun, but it's interesting to see how they do and have fun with it."

Sigworth also noted the Super Bowl Pick event is one of many enrichment activities the aquarium does to engage with the animals, keep them busy and encourage their natural behaviors.

"In her early years, Rasal was trained by the Navy to retrieve things," Sigworth said, "so this is taking one of her natural behaviors, something she thinks she's learned to do, and just having some fun with it."

Whether Rasal will be able to lift her lifetime record to 2-2 will be decided Sunday night.

Do you think Rasal got it right? Let Patch know in the comments who you think will win Super Bowl LVI.