With a big kick, Bubi the elephant oracle predicts Germany to win Euro 2024 opener

STARKENBERG, Germany (AP) — Move over, Paul the octopus. There’s a new big-hitter in the world of soccer soothsayers.

And this one is going for a win for Germany to open the European Championship.

Bubi, an African elephant who lives in a reserve in Thuringia in central Germany, was tasked Thursday with predicting the victor of the Euro 2024 match between the host nation and Scotland in Munich on Friday.

Bubi had to kick a ball toward the flags of Germany and Scotland that were on either side of a makeshift goal. The ball rolled toward Germany’s.

Bubi, who is originally from Italy, then waved the flag of her adopted home and enjoyed a bucket of barley.

Her keepers discovered her enthusiasm for soccer by chance when a ball rolled into her enclosure. Bubi immediately kicked it back.

Paul the octopus, also known as the “Oracle of Oberhausen,” gained notoriety by successfully predicting the outcome of matches at the 2010 World Cup.

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AP Euro 2024: https://apnews.com/hub/euro-2024

Elephant Bubi kicks the ball towards the goal in Starkenberg, Germany, Thursday, June 13, 2024. As an 'elephant oracle' the elephant predicts the outcome of the opening game of the European Championship, according to her, Germany will win. The animal from the Starkenberg elephant reserve shoots the ball into the German goal. (David Breidert/dpa via AP)

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