Mob of ‘mystic’ meerkats predict it’s coming home for England

A mob of “mystic” meerkats who have successfully predicted England’s last three victories have given their verdict for the Euro 2020 final: It’s coming home.

The creatures have tapped into their apparent psychic powers once again in the build up to Sunday’s crunch game against Italy at Wembley.

Presented with a pair of food buckets bearing the flags of the two nations, the mob wasted no time in leaping towards the England flag.

Among the meerkats making the prediction at Drusillas Park in East Sussex were pups Kane and Sterling leading the charge like their namesakes.

Head keeper Sophie Leadbitter said: “The whole zoo team can’t wait to see what England can do against Italy on Sunday.

“We’re so proud of our group of meerkats.

“We can’t quite believe how much attention they’ve been getting and they’re taking it all in their stride.

“Let’s hope England can take it the whole way and win on Sunday – the meerkats are on a roll and Gareth Southgate’s squad have done amazingly so far.”

Ms Leadbitter kicked things off by placing the buckets in the sand, with the England flag attached to the one on the left and the Italy flag on the right.

The whistle was blown and Tamu and Joey confidently moved into the England half. Their teammates pushed forward and did not even look at the Italy bucket.

The meerkats even started to climb inside the England bucket to really make their feelings known.

Ms Leadbitter added: “It’s strange to think that this will be their last prediction… for now.

“But it’s the most important one yet – let’s hope it really is coming home on Sunday.”

The activity is part of the zoo’s enrichment programme, which makes sure all the animals enjoy a diverse diet in imaginative and unusual ways.

The activities encourage them to think and work for their food as they would in the wild.