Phoenix Zoo's resident rhino misses Fiesta Bowl pick as Miami beats Ole Miss - ESPN
The Phoenix Zoo once again leaned on its resident rhino for its annual Fiesta Bowl prediction this week.
The zoo is the official home to Chutti «The Cutie,» an 11-year-old rhino with his own role in college football tradition.
Since 2021, Chutti has predicted the winner of the Fiesta Bowl.
For the matchup between No. 6 Ole Miss and No. 10 Miami, Chutti chose the Rebels to come out on top over the Hurricanes.
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The Fiesta Bowl result didn't go Chutti's way, with Miami's 31-27 Fiesta Bowl win continuing the Phoenix Zoo's tradition of having more charm than accuracy.
Chutti, a greater one-horned rhino whose name means «holiday» in Hindi, came to the Phoenix Zoo from Fresno Chaffee Zoo in November 2021, just days before his sixth birthday on Nov. 27.
Every year for the Fiesta Bowl, zookeepers customize boxes for the two teams that will compete in the game. In the past, whichever box Chutti interacted with first was his pick to win the game. However, Chutti hasn't been very accurate.
In the past four editions, Chutti predicted only one game accurately: Oregon's 2023 Fiesta Bowl win over Liberty.
This year, they tweaked the tradition a bit.
Instead of predicting the winner based on the box Chutti interacted with first, the Phoenix Zoo reversed the roles, claiming the team box that gets the first interaction will be the loser.
Chutti also made a prediction for Super Bowl LVII, picking the Philadelphia Eagles to beat the Kansas City Chiefs, although the Chiefs came out on top.
Though Chutti's record isn't the best, the Phoenix Zoo plans to continue the tradition every year.


