Psychic lion predicts Euro 2020 match results

NEWS AND VIEWS: This is a bit of promotional fun, as I would describe it. They have described Boy an eight-year-old lion living in a Thai zoo as albino but to the best of my knowledge he isn't a true albino. It just adds a little bit of mystery to the whole story. 

 Psychic lion predicts Euro 2020 match results. Credit: see image.

Zookeepers Khon Kaen zoo, keep the big cats at their zoo stimulated by hanging pieces of meat from a wire above them which are hard to get to. That's a good idea I guess because it challenges them slightly. Because of the Euro 2020 football currently running they decided to attach the flags of countries to each piece of meat. If the lion grabs a piece of meat labelled England, then England is going to win their next match which is exactly what happened!

Boy correctly predicted the outcome of the England vs Croatia match. He also predicted France to beat Germany which was correct, and Portugal to beat Hungary which was also correct. Those who want to know, Boy has not as yet predicted the winner of the tournament. In 2010 an octopus, Paul, predicted the winner of the World Cup that year as Spain, which as I recall was correct.

I almost forgot; Boy also predicted successfully the outcome of the Netherlands vs Ukraine match. Boy lives at the Khon Kaen zoo in the northeast of the country. The lion has been described as psychic by zookeepers! 

A statistician would be able to work out the chance of success by pure chance and they're probably quite high. Zookeepers are keen to tell people that they are not encouraging gambling! It is a neat idea, though, to promote the zoo. All they want to do is to "enrich animal's behaviours. The activity had no hidden purpose of encouraging people to gamble. This was purely for entertainment purposes only".  A slightly nervous statement. 

They are concerned that they'll be criticised in their country for encouraging gambling. This is significant as gambling, other than betting on horse races or the government-sponsored Thai lottery, is prohibited in Thailand. There you go. You can see the issue.

Can someone tell me why the Euro 2020 competition is being played in the middle of 2021! :) No idea. Just remembered: it was cancelled in 2020 because of Covid.

PETA gives "Hero to Animals Award" to the Thai Navy

This is a quick follow-up to a story that went viral. The Thai Navy saved 4 cats from a sinking boat after the engine caught fire. The cats moved to the bow of the ship and the men got off and were rescued but the cats were left behind. In an act of great enlightenment and a delight to animal lovers the Thai Navy rescued all 4 cats. It was great to see animals given equal rights to humans under the circumstances.

PETA grants "Hero to Animals Award" to the Thai Navy for their rescue of 4 cats from
a sinking boat. Photo: Thai Navy.

It wasn't an easy rescue. It's quite hard to take hold of 4 cats on a large boat that has almost sunk and transport them across about 30 yards of water to the Navy's ship. It was quite a dangerous operation. The cats cooperated which indicates how frightened they must have been and they appear to have been appreciative of the rescue.

You can read about the story by clicking on this link.

The senior vice president of PETA, Jason Baker said:

PETA hopes that their example will inspire everyone to keep an eye out for animals in danger and do whatever it takes to get them to safety."

He also said that the sailors' courageous and compassionate actions made a big impact across the world. They certainly did. As mentioned, the news went viral. It indicates, by the way, that the average citizen in the average country really appreciates animal welfare. They want to see animals treated properly.

It is therefore always shocking to me that there is so much animal abuse in the world. It appears that there is a minority of people, perhaps a very small minority of people who abuse animals and exploit them. If that's true, surely it is not beyond the bounds of the imagination of humankind to tackle animal abuse more effectively by targeting these people.

Has there been a study on the kind of section of society where animal abuse takes place? I know that we can profile animal abusers. I just think more work needs to be done on targeting abusers. Society wants to see it happen. The viral story of the Thai Navy strongly indicates that people like to see animal rescue and therefore they want to see an improvement in animal welfare. Let's try and achieve that with a bit more purpose.

Dramatic pictures of navy sailors rescuing 4 cats from boat off Thai coast

NEAR THE ISLAND OF KO ADANG, THAILAND: Thai navy rescue four domestic cats from sea after their boat sinks. What looks like a small commercial boat caught fire and began sinking. On board were the human sailors and 2 ginger cats and 2 torties (probably related). The eight crew members abandoned their boat and were rescued but they appear to have abandoned their cats too! 

Dramatic pictures of navy sailor rescuing 4 cats from boat off Thai coast.
Image credit: per image.

First-class Petty Officer Wichit Pukdeelon noticed the cats at the front of the boat. The fire had engulfed the back. He used his camera to zoom in on the boat and noticed their heads popping up.

A colleague, Thatsaphon Saii, 23, from the Royal Thai Navy's Air and Coastal Defence Command Operation Unit 491, swam out to the sinking boat to rescue the cats. The boat was 50 feet away. The boat had capsized and the cats were huddled at the bow. 

He brought the cats back on his shoulder. His colleagues reeled him in using a rope.

Dramatic pictures of navy sailor rescuing 4 cats from boat off Thai coast. Credit: see above.

Thatsaphon said: "When we arrived it was to secure the wreckage and check for oil spills. But we noticed the cats onboard. I immediately took off my shirt and put on a life jacket so I could jump into the sea. The flames were at the back of the boat but it was starting to sink, so I knew I had to be quick."

The rescued cats on dry land and being fed. I have added the words. Pic: Facebook.

He said that he was very relieved to have saved the cats. They would have certainly died.

The cats are being cared for by their crew members at their command station on the island of Koh Lipe.

The wreckage will be salvaged to protect marine wildlife.

Seal Point Siamese Cat in Thailand

This is an interesting photo of a Siamese cat in Siam - well it is called Thailand now but does this cat give us a clue as to what the original Siamese cat looked like before being picked up by the English cat fancy in the late 1800s.

The picture was taken where the marker in this map indicates:


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This is the photo:

Seal Point Siamese Temple Cat in Thailand

You can see that this cat is not oriental in shape but mid range moggie shape (semi-cobby) and a little fat actually!

Cat breeders in the USA justify breeding very slender cats on the basis that the shape is what the Siamese cat was like in Thailand - rubbish obviously. Or if they don't try and justify selective breeding in that way they are clearly breeding cats that are unnatural and unpopular with the public.

You can see the tabby banding on the forelegs. This cat has, it seems, an element of tabby pointing about him (lynx points).

Siamese Cat in Siam (Thailand)

Siamese cat in Thailand.

This Flickr photographer, xiffy, has managed to photograph the real thing, a Siamese cat in Siam; now Thailand, of course. The photo was taken near or in Chiang Mai International Airport.


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It is really nice to see the "real thing". This cat is probably more purebred than a purebred Siamese in the USA! Despite not not being registered with any cat association. I mean the genetics are probably more pure.

Several things stand out to me. The cat has normal sized ears. Modern Siamese cat breeders tend to breed cats with ears that are far too large - abnormally so.

Secondly this is the classic seal point. What you would expect in Thailand. The color of the eyes are not deep blue although this is a young cat. The color may deepen. "Extraordinary blue eyes" are how Gloria Stephens in Legacy of the Cat describes the Siamese cat eyes.

Finally the torso color is quite dark too. The classic Siamese show cats have higher contrast between center of body and extremities.

I have another picture of a Siamese cat in Siam on the Siamese cat history page and he or she also had a dark torso.

This cat's body type is classic and not extreme of course.