World Cup matches will be predicted by a panda

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World Cup matches will be predicted by a panda
(Image credit: Thinkstock)

Since Jimmy Fallon's puppies are grown and Paul the Octopus is dead, what adorable and/or exotic animal will help to predict the results of the 2014 World Cup? We may now have our newest animal soothsayer.

A giant panda conservation center in China's Sichuan province has reportedly "invited" a panda cub to predict the results of the 2014 World Cup. If all goes as planned, the panda will guess the winning soccer team by either picking food with the country's team on it or by climbing one of two trees, both of which bear flags for opposing teams.

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Jordan Valinsky is the lead writer for Speed Reads. Before joining The Week, he wrote for New York Observer's tech blog, Betabeat, and tracked the intersection between popular culture and the internet for The Daily Dot. He graduated with a degree in online journalism from Ohio University.