It began with Paul the Octopus back in 2008, and now we’ve got a host of animal oracles lining up to have a crack at the 2022 World Cup.
Paul went viral after correctly predicting eight straight results in the 2010 World Cup.
Twelve years on and a bunch of meerkats, an otter named Taiyo, Camilla the camel and Olivia the parrot are just some of the animals all lining up to have a crack naming who will be crowned world champions.
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Eight-year-old otter Taiyo is the animal to watch according to the fans, after he stunned with his correct prediction that Japan would upset Germany.
In what was one of the shocks of the tournament, Japan beat the four-time winners and pre-tournament favourites 2-1.
Taiyo had placed his miniature soccer ball into the correct bucket – one of three including the draw pre-game.
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But it remains unlikely Taiyo the otter oracle will carry on his predictions, according to staff at Maxell Aqua Park Shinagawa.
Taiyo would be hoping to avoid the same fate as Japan’s last animal psychic Rabio, the giant octopus who held an unblemished record of 2018 World Cup predictions.
After correctly predicting Japan’s three results, Rabio was quickly turned into seafood – and the nation failed to progress any further in the championship.
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Camilla, dubbed ‘Mystic Millie’, is never wrong according to her owners and picks her tip by selecting an easel sitting a few yards away.
She managed to predict England would beat the lowly Iran in their opening clash, and correctly tipped Ecuador to beat Qatar in the tournament opener.
“Camilla is very strong willed and always seems to know when it’s food time so we have absolute faith in her ability to predict World Cup results,” owner Jenny Moore told The Sun.
But “psychic” alpaca Alfie didn’t fair as well as Mystic Millie in the tips, after he predicted England would lose that clash to Iran in a shock selection.
Zoo keepers at the Oxfordshire farm had said Alfie was one of the “smarter” alpacas at the zoo and hoped to put him to the test.
He ultimately failed in his first prediction.
But zoo keepers are adamant it was just a minor blip on Alfie’s radar, as he also predicted England or the USA to top Group B.
Another failed contender for the animal psychic title is Olivia the grey parrot.
The Nasu Animal Kingdom Zoo resident incorrectly predicted Germany would take the win over Japan – despite holding a 50 per cent accuracy rate with her tips.
And we can’t forget the ‘Mystic Meerkats’ who correctly tipped England to go all the way in the Euro 2022 tournament.
The meerkat group predicted the Lionesses would claim quarterfinal and semi final wins before facing Germany in the decider – and once again correctly tipped England to get the result.
