Moscow Zoo pandas predict Olympics winners

Giant pandas at the Moscow Zoo predicted the outcome of the Winter Olympics, as they made their choices and named the countries that will be leaders in the team events.

"The panda is a symbol of China and one of the symbols of the upcoming Olympics. Who better than them to feel the outcome of the competition?" said the zoo in a statement that was published on the Moscow mayor's official website.

Svetlana Akulova, general director of the Moscow Zoo, said the zoo had never turned to pandas before for help in predicting the outcome of sporting events.

"But who else should make predictions about the Winter Olympics, the capital of which this year will be Beijing? On the eve of the Winter Olympics' opening, we decided to ask our pandas Ru Yi and Ding Ding which countries they think will perform the best. They had no doubts," Akulova said.

Ru Yi and Ding Ding were offered five identical cones with flags of the participating countries, which are represented by the largest number of athletes at the Olympics.

To ensure that the prediction is unbiased, Akulova said the items were not filled with any goodies. Ding Ding got cones with the flags of China, Sweden, the Netherlands, Russia and Austria, while Ru Yi got to choose from the flags of Norway, Canada, the United States, Switzerland and Germany.

After some thought, Ding Ding grabbed the cone with the Russian flag and literally embraced it. Ding Ding then approached the last cone in the row, which had the flag of China attached to it, and jumped, knocking it to the ground.

Ru Yi, on the other hand, took a more responsible approach. He leisurely sniffed each cone and came to the conclusion that Germany was the most likely candidate to win. He even tore down the flag and chewed it up as if it was a toy he liked. Then, Ru Yi needed a little more time to think for the next option. He waddled around his dwelling and soon returned to the cone with the US flag.

The zoo said it plans to continue seeking Ru Yi and Ding Ding's expert commentary on individual and team competitions over the course of the Feb 4-20 games.

Ding Ding and Ru Yi were brought from Sichuan province to Moscow in April 2019. Their move was timed to coincide with the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.