Mystic chimp backs England to beat Croatia

A chimpanzee at a Kent wildlife park is using her mystic powers to predict results for the England men's team at the 2026 World Cup.

After some deliberation, four-month-old chimp Jane, who lives at Wingham Wildlife Park near Canterbury, has already revealed England will beat Croatia in their Group L opener.

Holly Whylock, head of primates said: "She's a big England fan and is now at the crawling stage in her development.

"We lay out a St George's flag and the nation who England will be playing. The flag that she crawls towards is the team she thinks will win the match."

Jane was rejected by her mother when she was born and has been cared for by the parks owners, Tony and Jackie Binskin, sharing their bed for the first month.

The baby chimp is looked after by keepers during the day with the aim to reintegrate with her family.

"There's lots to go on in the background for us to get Jane back in [the enclosure] but we really want to get her back in before she's six months old", says Binskin.

Returning Jane to the enclosure requires "lots of planning" and "training the other chimps" to make sure she can be taken or can independently come to the enclosure fence to be fed.

Keepers plan to help her attach to her aunt Georgia as Jane's mother refused to take her on after birth.

If England progress to the World Cup final in New York on 19 July, Jane would have made eight successful predictions.

Jane's selections come as animal "predictors" have become a familiar novelty during major football tournaments, though their results are regarded as entertainment rather than scientific forecasting.

Between 2008 and 2010 Paul the Octopus in Germany correctly predicted the winners of 12 out 14 matches at the Euros and World Cup.

However Angus the Horse from the Kent/Sussex borders was not as accurate during the 2018 World Cup when the Highland Pony stated England would only win two matches, despite their acclaimed march to the semi-finals.

Jane is from the sub species of Western Chimpanzee which can be found in Ghana, England's World Cup opponents on 23 June.

"We hope she doesn't show unfair bias then!" jokes Whylock.

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