Sea lioness from the zoo predicts a draw at the start of the European Football Championship

If Hilla from Leipzig Zoo has her way, Germany and Scotland will play out a draw in the European Football Championship opener on Friday. The five-year-old Californian sea lioness gave the Scots the lead on Thursday as an oracle, and a little later she equalized for the German team. "I decide on a draw because both balls landed in the goal," said zoo director Jörg Junhold.

The zoo had been looking for a species that is playful and likes to handle balls for the animal oracle, which has been popular for years. According to the zoo director, the choice quickly fell on the sea lions. For the game, two balls were thrown into the pool at the same time and "Hilla", who can "shoot" with both flippers at the same time, hit the ball with the Scottish national flag better. The German ball rolled over the goal line a little later with difficulty. "I hope the German national team does a bit better. But maybe we can live well with a draw at the start of the European Championship," said Junhold.