England’s fourth lion! ‘Psychic’ lion is huge hit at Thai zoo after correctly predicting Euro 2020 results, including Gareth Southgate’s team’s victory over Croatia
- Boy, an eight-year-old lion living at a Thai zoo, has been ‘predicting’ Euros games
- Predator correctly picked the Three Lions to beat Croatia in their opening game
- Boy now forecasts Portugal to beat Hungary and Germany to best France today
- Stunt echoes Paul the octopus, who forecast German games at 2010 World Cup
Thai zookeepers have hailed an albino lion a ‘psychic’ after he correctly predicted the result of two Euros matches.
The big cat, named Boy, backed the Three Lions to claim victory over Croatia at the weekend before successfully predicting the Netherlands’ win over Ukraine.
Now, keepers at Khon Kaen zoo in the northeast of the country, have released footage that shows Boy predicting France to best Germany and Portugal to beat Hungary as all four teams play their first group games later today.
An eight-year-old lion named Boy has been hailed a psychic by zookeepers in Thailand after correctly backing the Three Lions to beat Croatia in their Euros match (pictured)
Boy makes his ‘predictions’ by selecting piece of meat that are attached to a zipwire which runs over the top of his enclosure.
Each piece of meat has a national flag attached to it, with Boy deemed to have ‘chosen’ a team based on which piece of meat he eats first.
The stunt echoes Paul the octopus, who earned a reputation as an animal oracle by predicting German football results during the 2008 Euros and 2010 World Cup.
To make his predictions, Paul was presented with two identical boxes with food inside – with a team assigned to each box.
As is the case with Boy, Paul was said to have ‘chosen’ whichever team’s box he ate the food from first.
During the 2008 Euros, the octopus correctly ‘predicted’ four out of six of the national side’s results – failing to foresee a 2-1 loss in the group stages to Croatia and a 1-0 loss to Spain in the final.
As part of the stunt, boy is offered two pieces of meat attached to a zipwire representing each country. Pictured: He predicts France to beat Germany today
Boy correctly predicted that the Netherlands will beat Ukraine during their game this week
The albino lion also selected Portugal to win over Hungary in their group game later today
Then, at the 2010 World Cup, he correctly predicted the results of all seven of Germany’s games including their third-place playoff win.
He also correctly chose Spain as the overall winner of the tournament, a series of feats that brought him international fame.
Originally hatched in Weymouth, Paul died two years later at the Sea Life Centre in Oberhausen, Germany, just a few months after the tournament ended.
Speaking about Boy, Thai zoo official Narongwit Chodchoi said: ‘The Euro 2020 prediction show by the lion is part of the zoo’s recreational activity, aiming to enrich animal’s behaviours.
‘The activity had no hidden purpose of encouraging people to gamble. This was purely for entertainment purposes only.’
Boy’s stunt echoes Paul the octopus, who predicted results for the German national team at the 2010 World Cup (pictured, boy in his enclosure)