Fort Worth Zoo
Travis the rhino.
The Fort Worth Zoo made a big play today as Travis, a rhino, predicted that the San Francisco 49ers will win the upcoming Super Bowl LIV.
The 22-year-old southern black rhino had the honor of choosing between two barrels decorated in each team’s respective logo. On top of each was a large ice cube—a popsicle-like treat. Whichever he knocked over first was the declared winner.
“It’s just a fun way to not only get involved in all the Super Bowl chatter every single year, but it’s also a fun way to add a new element of enrichment to the animals at the zoo,” says Assistant Director of Communications Avery Elander. “We wanted to give Travis a chance to play, but also shine light on his species and its threats in the wild.”
Southern black rhinos are endangered, and with the zoo’s long-standing commitment for the conservation of the species, they have been able to build new exhibits with the sole purpose of conserving and breeding the rhinos.
By Scotlyn Ogle
A rookie to making Super Bowl predictions, Travis had no interest in the barrels at first. He approached both of them, seemingly checking them out, then decided that his hay breakfast was far more interesting.
After he was done, and another rhino, Toto, came out, Travis finally caught on, and casually knocked over the barrel sporting San Francisco’s team logo. If his prediction is right, it will break the zoo’s five-year losing streak.
“If Travis’s performance is any indication of how the Chiefs or 49ers are going to play, we might be in trouble,” Elander says. “We are going to hope for the best and hopefully he can pull one out for us and we can finally get a win.”