Video: Oregon Zoo’s Orangutans Make Super Bowl Pick
Press release courtesy of the Oregon Zoo
The Oregon Zoo’s orangutans made their pick clear, unanimously choosing the Arizona Cardinals over the favored Pittsburgh Steelers in Sunday’s Super Bowl.
In a tradition dating back to 1996, keepers each year provide the orangs with official T-shirts from the two Super Bowl teams. The uncanny primates make their picks known by trying on a shirt from one of the teams.
“The orangutans made a bold choice,” commented Chris Sulages, head football coach at Lewis & Clark College who provided play-by-play for the event. Sulages, whose team went 1-8 this year, knows a thing or two about underdogs.
Kutai, youngest of the zoo’s orangs, boasts a flawless 4-0 record, having correctly picked the winner of the past four Super Bowls, including the Giants’ upset victory over the heavily favored and previously unbeaten Patriots last year. His grandmother, Inji, has predicted the winners of four Super Bowls and two Civil War games.
Each year, keepers provide the orangs with official T-shirts from the two Super Bowl teams. The uncanny primates make their picks known by trying on a shirt from one of the teams.
Inji’s ability to predict the winner of football games was discovered by chance back in 1996. A local sportscaster had seen the orangs receive clothing items as enrichment and wondered what they might do with Beavers and Ducks T-shirts prior to the teams’ 100th Civil War game. Inji, the most dominant of the orangs at the time, put on an Oregon shirt, and the Ducks went on to win, 49-13.
Two years later, she was given the same challenge and again picked the winner — the Beavers this time, in a 44-41 double-overtime thriller. Still somewhat skeptical, keepers put Inji to the test in that season’s Super Bowl, and she correctly chose Denver over Atlanta.
After a forced hiatus due to exhibit construction, Inji resumed her predictions in 2002, raising a few eyebrows when she picked the New England Patriots over the powerful St. Louis Rams, who were 14-point favorites at the time. As usual, though, Inji was right: The Patriots upset the Rams, 20-17. Inji eventually attained a record of 6-1 in her predictions, but became less reliable once her grandson Kutai began participating.
According to Senior Primate Keeper Dave Thomas, Kutai began inserting himself into the prediction process in 2005 and has shown he knows how to pick a winner: “While Inji’s record has slipped, Kutai’s has been perfect.”
Thomas won’t speculate about whether Inji might be stepping aside to allow her grandson to shine, or if he’s taking over by force.
“He did take all the shirts from one team one year, so her choice was limited,” Thomas conceded.
Zookeepers are always looking for new and interesting ways to keep the animals engaged and active. Giving the orangutans T-shirts and other interesting items serves as environmental enrichment. The Oregon Zoo is internationally renowned for its environmental enrichment program, designed to keep animals mentally and physically challenged and stimulated.
