Overview
- The parrots completed a public general rehearsal on Tuesday, June 9 and one macaw chose the willow ball labeled for Mexico as the zoo's pick for the opening match against South Africa.
- Keepers presented two willow balls marked with team names and flags and said there was no food involved, describing the choice as driven by the birds' curiosity and play rather than reward.
- Zoo Leipzig has scheduled more live oracle sessions for visitors, with the next prediction set for Friday at 9:30 a.m. in the newly opened 'Amazonien' area for the Germany versus Curaçao match.
- The birds are blue-throated macaws, a threatened species now native only to a small part of Bolivia, and zoo staff say the parrots' youth, intelligence and flock behavior suit them for team-based selection exercises.
- The project continues a familiar tradition of sporting-event animal 'oracles' and is intended to use media attention and public events to raise awareness and support for species-protection work at the zoo.