Seal Super Bowl Pick 2025: Norwalk Harbor Seal Predicts Eagles Victory

NORWALK, CT — Who will emerge victorious in Super Bowl LIX this weekend still remains to be seen, however one team has received a key vote of confidence from a resident of the Maritime Aquarium.

Rasal, a 39-year-old harbor seal, definitively picked the Philadelphia Eagles to triumph over the Kansas City Chiefs in Sunday's big game during an event held Tuesday morning at the Norwalk aquarium.

This year's annual event began when a trainer held up two footballs, a red one with the Chiefs logo on it and a black one with the Eagles logo, and tossed them both in the water.

Rasal made a mad dashed right to the Eagles ball and brought it back to the trainer, confidently cementing her pick for the 2025 Super Bowl winner.

Trainer Marisa Miloro told Patch she was surprised Rasal picked the Eagles given that she correctly chose the Chiefs to win in both 2023 and 2024.

Sunday's game will see the defending champs in a rematch against Philadelphia, who were beaten by Kansas City in the 2023 Super Bowl.

For Rasal to achieve a three-peat, she'll need the Eagles to disrupt the Chiefs' winning streak Sunday night.

"I think a lot us thought she would go for the red [football] again," Miloro said, "so to see her pick the Eagles was a little surprising, but we'll see what happens."

Miloro also noted the trainers made sure both balls were evenly dispersed in the water, making the decision entirely Rasal's.

"She definitely saw both [balls]," Miloro said, "but she was all about those Eagles this year."

Tuesday marked Rasal's seventh Super Bowl prediction at the aquarium. Her personal record for accurate predictions, 3-3, is slightly better than the seals' overall record of 6-7, according to additional press materials provided by the aquarium.

Rasal has resided at the Maritime Aquarium since 2005 and is one of the oldest harbor seals in human care. She currently lives in the Pinniped Cove exhibit with five other seals: Leila, Feisty, Gracie, Sono and Mikey.

Prior to her time in Norwalk, Rasal received training from the U.S. Navy.

While training is a form of enrichment, it also plays an important role in allowing animals to participate in their own healthcare.

Trainers rely on their participation to administer medication, perform veterinary examinations and move animals to different locations, according to the aquarium.

Miloro noted the aquarium practices enrichment with all of the animals in their care, not just the seals.

"It helps to keep them mentally and physically stimulated," Miloro said. "We have different categories of enrichment that we can give them; things for them to forage for food, which they would do naturally, different objects for them to see or smell...we use enrichment a lot every single day with all our animals here."

While the seals are on display every day at the aquarium, Miloro said the Super Bowl pick event has become increasingly popular because it gives guests an opportunity to see an enrichment activity linked to something they see in real life.

"Pretty much everyone watches the Super Bowl every February," Miloro said, "so I think coming here to be able to see one of the seals pick the Super Bowl winner is pretty exciting for [guests], because they'll then go into Sunday watching the Super Bowl hoping that the team Rasal picked wins."

She also noted the annual event is just as much fun for the trainers who work with the seals on a daily basis as it is for everyone else.

"I think this day, and this behavior specifically, is just as exciting for us trainers as it is for our guests and our other staff here at the aquarium," Miloro said. "We also look forward to this day very much. It's very fun for us to participate with our seals and see what they pick every year."