Psychic Raccoon Dies in Tula

By The Moscow Times

Feb. 4, 2013

A female raccoon named Gemma, who shot to fame after accurately predicting the results of the 2012 European Football Championship and London Olympics, died at Tula's regional zoo.

"Sadly, after a long illness, Gemma passed away Sunday afternoon," Tatyana Rodenko, an employee at the zoo, told Interfax on Monday.

Doctors diagnosed Gemma with a stroke stemming from heart failure, and they also think she had cancer.

The prophetic raccoon was 18 years old. The average life expectancy of raccoons is between 8 and 10 years.

Rodenko expressed gratitude to people who supported the animal.

Gemma was given to the Tula zoo in 2000 and began predicting sports results with the help of handlers in 2006.

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