The animal Super Bowl predictions have begun: stupid camel picks Baltimore

The 49ers have been installed as 4- to 5-point favorites in Super Bowl XLVII, so naturally Princess the Camel is taking the points. Actually camels are notoriously stingy with money, so Princess — who lives in a zoo in New Jersey — is taking the Ravens straight up to beat SF. Why is this important?

• It’s the first of what is sure to be an avalanche of Super Bowl animal predictions.

• Princess is 6-1 over the past seven Super Bowls, including last year’s choice of New York over New England. Her only loss: she picked the Colts over the Saints in 2009.

I take my online stock trading advice from a baby, so why not trust my Super Bowl bet to a camel? Princess was 14-6 straight up picking NFL games in 2011, and in her best year, 2008, she was 17-5. The camel lives in New Jersey’s Popcorn Park Zoo, and makes her choices by gobbling graham crackers out of her owner’s hand — each marked with a different team name.

Here are more Princess facts if you are so inclined.