Now Pauline the octopus gets in on the act

09 July 2010 - 17:16 By Sapa-AFP
subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now

Pauline, a female octopus in Dutch captivity, has predicted victory for the Netherlands in Sunday’s World Cup final against Spain, contradicting Paul the "psychic" German octopus after whom she was named, her aquarium said Friday.

“She chose the Netherlands,” Maaike Schroeder, spokeswoman for the Sea Life aquarium in Scheveningen in The Hague told AFP.

This was a first attempt at divination for four-year-old Pauline, added Schroeder.

In a similar method as that famously employed for Paul, two boxes — one with the Dutch flag, the other that of Spain and each with a mussel inside, were placed in Pauline’s enclosure on Thursday.

Pauline opted for the mussel in the Dutch box for her meal.

Paul the eight-legged oracle has become a World Cup sensation by correctly predicting the outcome of all six Germany’s World Cup games. He opted for Spain on Friday in a prediction carried live on national German television.

subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now