09 July 2010
Photo: AP
Octopus oracle Paul chooses a mussel from a glass tank marked with a Spanish flag, next to a box with a flag of Holland, in the SeaLife Aquarium in Oberhausen, Germany, 9 Jul 2010
Spaniards watched the Octopus make his final prediction of this World Cup live on television.
The eight-legged sea creature had two boxes to choose from - one marked with a flag from the Netherlands and another with the flag of Spain - and it was the yellow and red banner he went for.
People watching at a bar in Spain were happy with the choice.
The bar's owner said the octopus has always been right so far - and he hopes he's right again.
One customer said Spain will win anyway, with or without the octopus.
Paul lives in an aquarium in western Germany. He became an overnight celebrity after he correctly predicted all six of Germany's World Cup games. Germany only has one game left - against Uruguay - and Paul's calculated the European country will win it, taking third place in the tournament.
Rupert Adams is from William Hill, one of Britain's largest bookmakers. He says the octopus's success rate is remarkable.
"If you had had ten pounds on each and every prediction then re-invested your winnings you would currently have over 1,450 pounds," said Adams. "It's an astonishing feat to get six predictions in a row. I am told people are walking into our shops and saying 'I will have what the Octopus predicted.'"
But before taking Paul's word for this World Cup, it might be worth checking out the competition, because Paul isn't the only animal making predictions on this World Cup.
Mani the Parakeet, 13, lives in Singapore. His owner says he has correctly predicted the World Cup's four quarterfinal games and Spain's semifinal victory over Germany.
And Mani has forecast that the Netherlands - not Spain - will win the final. Mani's fans in Singapore say his prediction is the one to believe.
"Definitely he will be right, that is going to be because before it happened it was right," said one of Mani's fans. "So we are also believing, he is also most [believable], so we are also believing that it will definitely be good," he said.
As always in the World Cup, there can only be one winner and only time will tell whether this time round it's the octopus or the parakeet.
