Paul the octopus dies

Paul the octopus, the cephalopod who became a global sensation after successfully predicting matches at the World Cup, has died peacefully in his sleep aged two. Stefan Porwoll, general manager of the Oberhausen Sea Life centre from where Paul made his predictions, confirmed the sad news.

"He died last night, a peaceful and natural death," Porwoll said.

Paul, who was born in 2008 in the English town of Weymouth, correctly predicted the winner of all seven of Germany's matches at this summer's World Cup in South Africa, then went on to correctly choose Spain over the Netherlands before the final.

During the World Cup, Paul made his predictions by choosing between two feed boxes each bearing the flag of one of the two nations involved in the next match. Time and again his predictions came true, turning him into a global sensation who attracted big money offers to buy him after the tournament.

Yet the Oberhausen Sea Life centre insisted on keeping their star attraction, and are devastated at the news of his passing.

"We all loved him and we all will truly miss him," added Porwoll.


/Eurosport/