Paul the ‘World Cup’ octopus dies

  1. Posted on Tuesday 26 October 2010 - 15:33
    Gbentil
    Image of Gbentil
    Glorea Bentil, AfricaNews reporter in Accra, Ghana Credit: BBC
    Paul the octopus, an unlikely star of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa who 'predicted' the outcome of eight matches, has died at an aquarium in Germany. Staff at the Sea Life centre in Oberhausen said they were "devastated" to learn that he had passed away during the night.
    Paul the Octopus
    Paul made his name by successfully choosing a mussel from one of two boxes bearing the flags of competing nations.

    Octopuses rarely live beyond two years so his death was not unexpected.
    Paul was two-and-a-half years old and had been hatched at another centre at Weymouth in England in 2008.

    The centre's manager, Stefan Porwoll, said that Paul had correctly guessed the winner of seven of Germany's World Cup matches, including their defeats, and had "enthused people across every continent".

    As the tournament progressed, the octopus's uncanny knack of selecting the correct box drew increasing interest from the world's media, culminating in his choice of Spain as the eventual winner.

    He became an instant hero in Spain, prompting a request to have him put on display at Madrid zoo.

    Amid the euphoria, he was even made an honorary citizen of a Spanish town before being made an ambassador for England's 2018 World Cup bid.

    The Oberhausen centre said he had seemed fine when last checked on Monday night but was found dead on Tuesday morning.

    "We are consoled by the knowledge that he enjoyed a good life," Mr Porwoll said.
    The prophetic cephalopod's brief but extraordinary life is unlikely to be forgotten.
    A documentary has been filmed and books and toys are already planned for the Christmas market.

    "It's a sad day. Paul was rather special but we managed to film Paul before he left this mortal earth," said his agent, Chris Davies.

    A memorial is to be erected at the aquarium in his memory.

Latest News

  1. OPINION: Welcome to African Green Revolution24/05For the past century and a half, Africa has tried various agricultural approaches without much success.
  2. Egyptians vote in historic election23/05Egyptians began voting freely on Wednesday for the first time to pick their president in a wide open election that pits Islamists against men who serv…
  3. Africa Day 2012 - a moment for reflection and…22/0525th May is Africa Day. For many years it has been a celebration of African unity. It dates back to 1963 when the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) …
  4. South Africa's African agenda21/05The Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, Kgalema Mothlanthe paid a rare visit to Ghana in April at the invitation of John Dramani Mahama …
  5. Women struggle to rinse hunger, poverty stains21/05Just looking at her one clearly appreciates that she is old and frail therefore in need of support for food, clothing and shelter to live comfortably …
  6. Climate Climate change affects migratory birds…21/05Changes in the climate globally have affected the movement of both migratory and resident species of birds, Nature Uganda has said.
  7. Ghana: Foreign retailers cited for currency…18/05The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) is attributing the sharp depreciation of the Ghana cedi against major currencies to the illegal activiti…
  8. Kenya: Community radio brings succour to…18/05Korogocho, a slum in northeastern Nairobi with 100,000 inhabitants, had many of the ingredients for a political explosion similar to those that rocked…
  9. Veld fires 'flame' Zimbabwe's…16/05Over the years, Zimbabwe has experienced the scourge of veld fires destroying property worth thousands of dollars.
  10. Liberia commends ECOWAS for support14/05The induction training of pioneer Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Volunteers for Liberia kicked off in Monrovia, with the Deputy Mi…
  11. Vanishing Lake Chad puts 30m lives at risk14/05As you approach the Lake Chad basin from Maiduguri, in north-eastern Nigeria, the evidence of despair is telling.
  12. Heavy rains cause havoc in Kenya14/05Heavy Rainfall continued to wreak havoc across the country leading to the suspension of relief food in some parts of the country as most roads in Turk…
  13. Zimbabwe: Growth points lie dormant14/05The Zimbabwean government mooted the concept of growth points in the 1980s as a means of decongesting cities and towns.
  14. Sierra Leone improves in infant mortality11/05Sierra Leone has improved in infant mortality cases according to Save the Children- World Motherhood index 2012 report. The West Africa country descri…
  15. Zimbabwe: Resettled farmers fail to utilize…10/05Resettled farmers in Zimbabwe are failing to utilize land due to inadequate farming inputs and lack of resources.
News archive