“Boy”, a white lion at Khon Kaen Zoo, has predicted Spain will beat Argentina to win the 2026 World Cup final, and that France will finish third by beating England.
At 1pm on July 17, zoo director Thipawadee Kittikhun led staff in a prediction event, hanging pieces of pork, the lion's favourite food, beneath the flags of competing nations.
“Boy” was left to sniff out and pounce on the food, with the flag he chose twice out of three attempts taken as his pick.
For the third-place playoff between France and England, kicking off at 4am on Sunday, July 19 (Thailand time), “Boy” pounced on the food hung by the French flag twice, tipping France for the win.
For the final between Spain and Argentina, kicking off at 2am on Monday, July 20 (Thailand time), he went for the Spanish flag twice, tipping Spain to be crowned champions.
Previously, “Boy” had correctly picked both semi-final results, choosing Spain and Argentina to advance to the final, giving him a 100% accuracy record so far and drawing strong interest from visitors and football fans.
The director stressed the activity was designed purely to enrich the animal's natural behaviour, encouraging movement, exercise, foraging and use of the senses, with benefits for the lion's physical and mental wellbeing.
It was not an official forecast of match results, she added, and was not intended to encourage, promote or be used for gambling or betting of any kind. She stated the event was held solely for educational purposes, animal welfare promotion and to encourage tourism.
