UEFA Euro 2012: Citta the elephant trumpets Polish victory

Paul the amazing clairvoyant octopus may be dead but now he has a worthy heir, a Polish-based Indian elephant named Citta.

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Weymouth-born but German-based Paul went down a storm during the last European Championships and the 2010 World Cup in South Africa with his remarkable ability to predict the winners of various matches, mostly involving Germany.

His overall record from the two competitions was 12 correct predictions from 14 attempts, including a 100 percent record in South Africa.

And although he has passed onto pastures new, Krakow based elephant Citta has taken over the baton and so far has a 100 percent record.

According to zookeeper Jerzy Pirog, Citta correctly predicted the outcome of the Champions League final last month and has now been put to the test to predict the results of Poland's group matches.

The co-hosts open their Group A campaign against Greece on Friday and according to Citta, they can expect to win.

Presented with a choice of three melons, each set out in front of either the Polish flag, the Greek one or a banner proclaiming a draw, 33-year-old Citta scooped up the one in front of the Polish flag.

Whereas Paul the Octopus was the original self-made psychic, Citta had to come through an X-Factor style competition to earn her chance.

But having beaten off competition from a parrot called Kuba and Black Mary the donkey, Citta is being trusted with the vital role of showing the way for betting coupons up and down the country.

"Everything happened before the final of the Champions League between Chelsea and Bayern Munich," said Pirog, a vet who specialises in monkeys and birds.

"We did this test with the elephant, an African Grey Parrot and a donkey.

"The donkey and the parrot decided the winner would be Bayern Munich but only the elephant got the right winner, so we decided she's got psychic powers."

The Krakow Zoo thought it would be a bit much to task Citta with predicting the outcome of every match so they're just going to put her powers to the test for Poland's games.

However, should she prove as talented as Paul the Octopus, they're planning on rolling her out for the knock-out rounds as well.

It's been a long road for the Indian elephant to reach this illustrious stage in her career, having previously worked for a German circus and then entertained visitors at nature parks in Austria and Spain as well as the zoo in Hamburg.

Given the recent football betting Calcioscommesse match-fixing scandal in Italy, it is not yet clear how UEFA will react to Citta's predictions, although it is worth noting that Paul was never sanctioned during his career.