Battle of Shahrukh, Shanti and Yvonne!

Four-legged soothsayers

Shahrukh and Shanti are certain that Germany will be victors in their Euro 2012 opening game against Portugal on Saturday. 

Yvonne, though, begs to differ. 

Though German, she thinks it will be an upset win for Portugal.

Predicting the outcome of a football game is a tough task -- so tough that the fans in Europe have turned to the animal world for answers. It all started with Paul the Octopus, who was a rage during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, making a clutch of correct predictions.

Paul is now history, but others have taken up the role with gusto -- a parrot, another octopus and an elephant have joined the soothsayers’ list.

The latest to come in are Shahrukh, Shanti and Yvonne. Shahrukh and Shanti, elephants in a zoo in Hamburg, chose fruits and vegetables arranged in German colours over that of Portugal.

Yvonne, a cow at an animal sanctuary near Deggendorf in southern Germany, chose to eat out of a feeding trough with a Portuguese flag on it, leaving the German supporters a worried lot.

Meanwhile in Benalmadena, Spain, it was an Otter named Maya doing the predicting job.

She chose a glass jar marked with Spain's national flag over a jar with an Italian flag, predicting victory for Spain when the teams clash on Sunday. Another Otter, Ferret, favoured Germany in their match against Portugal.

Shahrukh, Shanti, Yvonne or simply Maya? We just have to wait for the right answer.