During the 2010 World Cup, fans should have paid more attention to predictions from an octopus rather than human analysts. Paul The Octopus gained stardom when he correctly picked the final between Spain and the Netherlands as well as going 11 for 13 with his forecasts of Germany's results during Euro 2008 and the World Cup.
The media buzz for Paul overshadowed the success of Nelly The Elephant. Nelly went 30 for 33 in her picks of the 2006 Women's World Cup, 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012, but the fame went to Paul.
Since Paul's passing in October 2010, Nelly has had a better chance to make a name for herself as the soccer animal psychic. The elephant kicks balls into one of two nets. Each net has a flag representing each nation in that specific game.
According to a report on NDTV, Nelly predicts that Germany will advance from its group by tying Portugal and beating the United States and Ghana.
The video, though, is confusing. It shows Nelly kicking the ball in the Americans' net, which would seem to indicate her selection. Perhaps something was lost in translation.
Using elephants can be risky when predicting games. In 2012 an Indian elephant named Citta was asked to predict all the games of the European Championship. Citta lived at the Krakow Zoo in Poland, and her popularity plummeted after picking Poland’s first two games incorrectly.
The recent phenomenon of psychic animals is reaching fever pitch levels. China has invited a panda cub to choose the World Cup winners. The panda cub would be another in a long list of animals to try and achieve glory through World Cup prophecy. The fame that Paul The Octopus achieved also brought an increase in visitors to his home at the Oberhausen Sea Life Center in Germany.
