PAUL the octopus, who shot to fame during this year’s soccer World Cup in South Africa for his flawless record in predicting game outcomes, had died, his aquarium in Germany said yesterday.

Paul, the so-called “octopus oracle,” predicts Spain’s victory in their 2010 World Cup semifinal match against Germany by choosing a mussel from a glass box decorated with the Spanish national flag, at the Sea Life Aquarium in the western German city of Oberhausen on July 6. SD-Agencies

Said to have been born in January 2008 in Weymouth, England, the octopus predicted the correct result of all but two of Germany’s games during Euro 2008, failing to predict the defeats to Croatia and Spain.

At this summer’s World Cup, he maintained a 100-percent record, getting all Germany’s results right before opting for Spain to beat Netherlands in the final.

Stefan Porwoll, manager of the Oberhausen Sea Life Center in Germany that housed Paul, said: “We are consoled by the knowledge that he enjoyed a good life here and that the care provided him by our dedicated displays team could not have been bettered.

“His success made him almost a bigger story than the World Cup itself.”

His owners rejected offers from bookmakers for Paul after the World Cup as they wanted him to “step back from the official oracle business,” but his final prediction was that England would win the rights to host the 2018 World Cup.(SD-Agencies)

Source： Shenzhen Daily  Editor： 洪志科