Fred the ferret from Kharkov in eastern Ukraine has joined the mystic menagerie of psychic animals tasked with predicting the results of Euro 2012 games, the organizer of the Kharkov fan zone said Monday.
Fred will vie with the Soothsayer Hog in the Ukrainian capital Kiev and Citta the elephant in the Polish city of Krakow, who are also to foretell results.
“We have chosen the cutest little animal,” organizer Sergei Kharkov said in a statement.
Fred will choose between two bowls of fresh beef for each game, with each bowl bearing the flag of one of the countries playing.
Citta will attempt to predict the outcome of Poland's group matches by choosing one of three apples that signify win, lose and draw, the deputy director of Krakow Zoo, Teresa Grega, told RIA Novosti on Tuesday.
Citta beat out competition from Katherine the donkey and Jacko the parrot by correctly predicting Chelsea's victory over Bayern Munich in the Champions League final this month, Grega said.
Citta is Poland's answer to the Soothsayer Hog unveiled in Kiev, the capital of Euro 2012 co-host Ukraine, last week.
Billed as “an expert on the mysteries of football” by organizers, the hog will predict the result of one game a day by choosing between two plates of food every afternoon, with each plate each bearing the flag of one of the teams taking part.
The Soothsayer Hog will have his own little house built for him at the Kiev fan zone, organizers said.
It was not clear whether the pig or the elephant would be recognized as the competition's official mystic. There was no immediate comment from Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
It was the eerily accurate predictions of Paul the Octopus at the 2010 World Cup that started the psychic animal craze.
Paul correctly predicted the outcome of every match Germany played, as well as Spain’s victory over the Netherlands in the final.
