'Psychic pandas' no threat to Paul's legacy

First there was Paul the octopus, now there's Bo Si, the 'psychic' panda.

Bo Si picked a Chinese athlete to be the first gold medal winner of the Asian Games and Yuan Xiaochao promptly won the wushu, boosting the popularity of the 12 giant pandas at Xiangjiang Safari Park in Guangzhou.

But, given China are so dominant and favourites to finish top of the medals table and have the biggest squad at the Games, critics said it hardly proved Bo Si's telepathic powers.

And it emerged Bo Si had been given the option to pick a bamboo shoot, which represented a Chinese winner, or an apple for a foreigner. Pandas exist on a bamboo diet.

"The pandas have tended to favour Chinese athletes," said the China Daily of the 12 giant predicting pandas.

"The pandas are expected to help the park attract more tourists during the Asian Games," the paper quoted a park staff member as saying.

Paul the Octopus shot to fame during this year's football World Cup for his flawless record in predicting game outcomes. Paul died at an aquarium in Germany last month.

Did you know?
Each of the 12 psychic pandas has a different specialty. Bo Si predicted the winner in martial arts whereas another panda Hui Hui made predictions for the diving competition.