Watch penguins waddle, wobble in Binghamton Zoo's first Penguin Bowl +Video Live
Penguin Bowl I was the brainchild of the zoo's marketing department, said spokeswoman Rachel Davenport in an email.
"We're always looking for fun and creative ways to promote our animals' conservation stories" Davenport said.
The bird bowl was broadcast live on Facebook and garnered more than 11,000 views on Facebook and, yes, Twitter. The bowl raised over $600 to help the zoo build a new sloth exhibit. (No word on whether there will be a Sloth Bowl.)
Competing Sunday were Gnat, Lucky, Ronde, Howard and Dyer. Viewers named 9-year-old Ronde the bowl's MVP - Most Valuable Penguin - for his sportsmanship on the field, Davenport reported.
Howard was a last-minute entry; on Friday he had been placed on the penguin version of the injured reserve list because he was molting. Zookeepers cleared him for Sunday, although he didn't suit up with a colored arm band like the others.
Like the actual Super Bowl in frigid Minneapolis, the Penguin Bowl was played indoors. African penguins are native to the near-tropical waters of the southern coast of Africa, and must stay indoors during Upstate New York winters.
"Since they are from a warmer climate," Davenport said, "they don't go outside unless it's 40 degrees or higher."
The game was considered enrichment for the penguins, Davenport said. "Enrichment is anything new for the animal to experience: new scents, toys, food, etc....," she said.
They are considered endangered; their population has fallen by half in the past 30 years, according to Kruger National Park in South Africa. They're also known as jackass penguins for their donkey-like, braying call.
If you missed Sunday's inaugural Penguin Bowl, don't despair: The zoo is already planning Penguin Bowl II for Feb. 3, 2019.
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