Hippo Fiona makes a mess of her Super Bowl pick

CINCINNATI — Bettors looking for an edge in picking Sunday’s Super Bowl winner may (or may not) want to consider the selection thrown up by Fiona, the hippopotamus heartthrob at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden.

Zoo keepers on Thursday placed two “enrichment” toys in front of her, marked with the logos of the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers. While the plan called for Fiona to nudge one of the items with her snout to indicate her pick, she instead chose to lose her leafy green lunch on the Chiefs’ item, WLWT-TV reports.

Fiona’s premature birth three years ago drew international attention. She has since grown to 1,200 pounds (544 kilograms), roughly the weight of four NFL offensive linemen. It’s the third year she has handicapped the Super Bowl, correctly picking the Philadelphia Eagles to beat the New England Patriots in 2018, but missing on the Los Angeles Rams upsetting the Patriots in 2019.

Fiona celebrated her third birthday Jan. 24. She weighed just 29 pounds (13.2 kilograms) at birth, 25 pounds (11.3 kilograms) less than the lowest recorded birth weight for her species.

It’s unclear whether Fiona knew the point spread for Sunday’s game. The Chiefs are favoured by a point.

The Associated Press