Animal Care Specialist Holly Lutz and Husbandry Fellow Rosie Velasco feeding Gentoo Penguin.The Nashville Predators are getting a lot of support from the Tennessee Aquarium.
The Pittsburgh Penguins, currently vying for a fifth Stanley Cup, have a lot of fans throughout the nation. Well, except for the Macaroni and Gentoo penguins at the Tennessee Aquarium - they're actually Nashville Predators fans.
The Predators versus the Penguins is the match-up for this year's Stanley Cup Finals, but the Tennessee Aquarium's penguins aren't playing with Penguins-branded material.The husbandry staff have been seen conducting enrichment sessions while wearing Predators jerseys, and the birds have enjoyed interacting with a Predators logo emblazoned puck (sorry, Pittsburgh.)
"We do look a little bit different today," animal trainer and presenter Holly Lutz told visitors during a recent enrichment session while wearing a Filip Forsberg Predators jersey. "We don't usually wear jerseys, but it's the first time [the Predators] have made the Stanley Cup Finals, and we want to support them. We realize the irony of the fact that they are playing the Penguins, but we want to support our local team."
The Penguins Rock birds are currently in the midst of their annual breeding seasons. The birds have paired off in recent weeks and constructed nests out of piles of carefully stacked rocks.
The best-of-seven Stanley Cup Finals began on May 29 and will conclude no later than June 14. Game two of the match-up will take place at 8 p.m. tonight, but guests may spot a Predators jersey or two in Penguins Rock during regularly scheduled enrichment sessions throughout the tournament.