SALT LAKE CITY—An ape at the Salt Lake City zoo has predicted the Carolina Panthers will win the Super Bowl.
Zoo spokeswoman Erica Hansen says a 1-year-old orangutan named Tuah chewed up a cardboard Panthers sign and later kissed a papier-mache Panthers helmet. Hansen says he never touched the Denver Broncos sign or helmet.
Hansen says Tuah’s older sister gave Broncos fans hope when she entered the enclosure later and put the Broncos helmet on her head.
Acara, a Bornean Orangutan, and the older sister to Tuah, gives Denver Bronco fans hope as she makes her choice on which team would win Sunday's Super Bowl by picking the helmet representing the Denver Broncos, at the Salt Lake City zoo, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016. After biting off the face guard, she put the remnants of the Denver helmet on. But it was "Tuah" who picked the Panthers helmet, who had the official duty to follow in his father's footsteps and pick the winner of Sunday's football game. His late father Eli picked seven straigher winners in a row before he died in 2015. Scott Sommerdorf /The Salt Lake Tribune via AP
The annual event occurred Thursday. Animals at the zoo have correctly predicted the Super Bowl winner eight straight years.
This was Tuah’s first time handling the duties. His dad picked seven straight winners before dying in 2015. A lion stepped in last year while Tuah was a baby and correctly picked the New England Patriots.
Tuah, an orangutan at Hogle Zoo looks at helmets in his enclosure in Salt Lake City, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016, after selecting the Carolina Panthers to win the Super Bowl over the Denver Broncos. Ravell Call /The Deseret News via AP
Tuah, an orangutan at Utah's Hogle Zoo, picks the Carolina Panthers over the Denver Broncos as winners of Sunday's Super Bowl, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016, in Salt Lake City. Tuah is the son of an orangutan named Eli who picked seven straight winners of the big game before he died in 2015 at age 24 from complications of breast cancer. Scott Sommerdorf/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP
