LACEY TOWNSHIP, N.J. -- People use all sorts of ways to try to predict the winner of the Super Bowl: comparing regular-season records, judging who looked stronger in the postseason run-up to the big game or watching the betting lines from Las Vegas oddsmakers.
But the closest thing to a sure thing might come from a camel in New Jersey.
Princess, the star of New Jersey's Popcorn Park Zoo, has correctly picked the winner of five of the last six Super Bowls. She went 14-6 predicting regular-season and playoff games this year, and has a lifetime record of 88-51.
Her pick this year: The New York Giants.
The Bactrian camel's prognostication skills flow from her love of graham crackers. Zoo general manager John Bergmann places a cracker and writes the name of the competing teams on each hand. Whichever hand Princess nibbles from is her pick.
She made her Super Bowl pick Wednesday without any hesitation, predicting bad news for coach Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots.
Her only miscue in the big game was picking the Indianapolis Colts over the New Orleans Saints two years ago, indicating that even camels know it's generally risky to go against Peyton Manning.
"It started out when a local radio station was looking to have some fun, so they asked Princess who was going to win a particular game each week, and it just took off from there," Bergmann said. "Now we have guys calling up on Sunday morning wanting to know who Princess has picked that week. One guy even asked if she does lottery numbers."
Her best season was 2008, when she got 17 out of 22 games right, including correctly picking the Pittsburgh Steelers to win the Super Bowl.
The cunning camel was once the personal pet of heiress Doris Duke, the only child of tobacco and electric energy tycoon James Buchanan Duke.
Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press
