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By DAVID DERBYSHIRE
Paul correctly predicted the results of six World Cup games involving Germany, including the final when he went for Spain
He probably saw it coming. But for fans of Paul the psychic octopus, the news of his sudden death yesterday was a shock.
The British-born oracle, who dazzled the world with his accurate World Cup predictions over the summer, passed away peacefully in his tank in Germany.
His owners – who turned down lucrative offers for the octopus from zoos and restaurants around the world – say he died of natural causes, and that there was nothing fishy about his end.
Paul passed away in the night aged two and a half years, when all three of his hearts ceased to beat at once.
He was unmarried and leaves no larvae.
‘Management and staff of the Oberhausen Sea Life Aquarium were devastated when Paul was found dead,’ the centre said in a statement.
‘We will erect a monument to the little brown octopus whose astounding predictive powers turned him into the true star of the tournament.’
The unlikely celebrity was one of the few bright spots in a bleak summer of World Cup football for England fans.
He correctly predicted Germany’s results throughout the championship by selecting mussels from boxes draped in the colours of teams about to meet on the pitch in South Africa.
He also correctly forecast the result of the final between Holland and Spain. The odds of him getting all eight predictions right were one in 256 – but he succeeded.
After his summer triumph he was appointed ambassador for England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup. He spent his last few months in retirement, feasting on clams and mussels.
Yesterday, tributes to the octopus poured in from around the world.
‘Paul delighted people from all continents with his seven consecutive correct predictions for the matches of the German national team and for the final,’ said the aquarium’s general manager, Stefan Porwoll. ‘He was dear to all our hearts and we will sorely miss him. He died peacefully in the night of a natural death.
‘It is a comforting thought that he had a good life with us with the best possible care delivered by a committed team.
‘His success made him almost a bigger story than the World Cup itself.
‘We may decide to give Paul his own small burial plot within our grounds and erect a modest permanent shrine. While this may seem a curious thing to do for a sea creature, Paul achieved such popularity during his short life that it may be deemed the most appropriate course of action.’
Paul was hatched from an egg in January 2008 at the Sea Life Centre in Weymouth, where he spent his formative years as a larva before moving to Germany.
After predicting Spain’s World Cup victory he became a hero in Iberia, and Spanish businessmen raised around £26,000 as a ‘transfer fee’ to have Paul as the main attraction at a gastronomic festival.
Manuel Pazo, a fisherman and head of a business club in the northwestern Spanish town of O Carballino, made assurances that Paul would be presented alive in a tank and not on the menu. But his owners rejected the offer.
Paul will achieve immortality in a range of enterprises, from clothing lines to mobile phone applications. He will also feature in a documentary to be released next year.
His final prediction was that England would win the right to host the World Cup in 2018.
source: dailymail
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