12 animals who predicted the World Cup
Ahead of the 2026 World Cup, Sky HISTORY takes a look back at the animals that have predicted previous tournaments – with very mixed results.
Image: Paul the Octopus correctly predicted 12 out of 14 games across two tournaments | Shutterstock.com
It used to be the norm for teams to have an official song for each tournament. But as the popularity of those songs has fizzled out, it seems like a new tradition has taken its place. We’re talking, of course, about the advent of random animals predicting football results!
It seemed to start with Paul the Octopus in 2008, but when you dig a little deeper, there are actually over 10 different animal oracles. Don’t worry, we’ve done the investigating for you at Sky HISTORY.
Below, we’ll run through the growing list of supposedly psychic animals, their success rates and what’s happened to them since their 15 minutes of fortune-telling fame.
Nelly the Elephant – 2006
Despite Paul’s notoriety, Nelly the Elephant was the original clairvoyant creature. Impressively, she would kick a ball into a goal marked with the flag of the winning team.
- Tournaments: 2006 World Cup, 2010 World Cup, 2012 Euros
- Success: Correctly predicted 30 of 33 matches
- Today: Still alive and playing with her football at her Serengeti Park home in North Germany
Paul the Octopus – 2008
Paul’s keepers would present him with two food-filled boxes, adorned with the flags of teams from an upcoming match. Whichever he ate from first was taken as his prediction.
- Tournaments: Euro 2008, 2010 World Cup
- Success: Correctly predicted 12 of 14
- Today: Died of natural causes in October 2010, just months after his World Cup fame
Mani the Parakeet – 2010
Singapore's feathered forecaster assisted his owner at a Little India fortune-telling shop. He would exit his cage and flip over one of two flag-marked cards with his beak.
- Tournaments: 2010 World Cup
- Success: Correctly predicted 5 of 7
- Today: Believed to still be alive, continuing his fortune-telling duties in Singapore
Big Head the Turtle – 2014
Brazil's patriotic answer to Paul the Octopus made his picks by eating a fish hanging from one of two flags. Interestingly, a third fish was attached to a ball, representing a draw.
- Tournaments: 2014 World Cup
- Success: Mixed
- Today: Loggerhead turtles can live well past 50, so he’s probably still swimming at the Praia do Forte sanctuary in Brazil
Achilles the Cat – 2018
Achilles was a deaf white cat whose day job was catching mice at St Petersburg's Hermitage Museum. Two flag-marked food bowls were placed before him each match day, and whichever he ate from was his prediction.
- Tournaments: 2018 World Cup
- Success: Close to 90% at his peak during the tournament
- Today: It’s unclear, but the Hermitage's cats are famously well cared for
Rubio the Octopus – 2018
Rubio was Japan's eight-legged oracle for Russia 2018. He predicted results by moving between flag-marked sections of his tank.
- Tournaments: 2018 World Cup
- Success: 100% in the group stage
- Today: Sadly, he was turned into sashimi before the knockout rounds
Marcus the Pig – 2018
A micro pig from Derbyshire who made his picks live on ITV's This Morning. He would eat apples with flag-marked cocktail sticks, wearing a wizard's hat and cape.
- Tournaments: 2018 World Cup
- Success: Predicted England to win the tournament, which says it all really
- Today: Another unknown, but hopefully he’s still snuffling around his Derbyshire farm
Yashoda the Elephant – 2021
Yashoda was the spiritual successor to Nelly at Hamburg's Hagenbeck Zoo. She sniffed and pulled the winning flag from a box (with a draw indicated by pulling both flags simultaneously).
- Tournaments: Euro 2020 (held in 2021)
- Success: Correctly called France to beat Germany, Germany to beat Portugal and the Germany-Hungary draw
- Today: Believed to still be resident at Hagenbeck Zoo, Hamburg
Camilla the Camel – 2022
A homegrown British oracle from Melton Mowbray, whose owners boldly told The Sun she was 'never wrong'. However, her precise prediction method wasn’t widely reported.
- Tournaments: 2022 World Cup
- Success: Correctly predicted England's group-stage win over Iran. Shocker.
- Today: Presumably still residing in Leicestershire
Taiyo the Otter – 2022
A small but mighty otter from Tokyo's Maxell Aqua Park Shinagawa. He had to pick up a tiny football and place it in one of three buckets (Japan, draw or opponent).
- Tournaments: 2022 World Cup
- Success: Correctly predicted Japan's famous group-stage win over Germany
- Today: Believed to still be at Maxell Aqua Park Shinagawa in Tokyo
Bubi the Elephant – 2024
Bubi predicted results the same way as Nelly, kicking a ball towards a flag-marked goal. Her keepers only discovered her talent when a stray ball rolled into her enclosure and she instinctively kicked it back.
- Tournaments: Euro 2024
- Success: Correctly predicted Germany's opening win over Scotland
- Today: Still a resident at her reserve in Thuringia
Walter the Orangutan – 2024
Dortmund Zoo's most controversial resident, whose final prediction caused debate. He grabbed Spain's food bag first, but ate England's first. Spain won, leaving everyone to draw their own conclusions.
- Tournaments: Euro 2024
- Success: Correctly predicted Spain over Germany in the quarter-finals. Final prediction remains disputed
- Today: Still a resident at Dortmund Zoo
Paul gets the plaudits, but Nelly has the numbers
In a sport that’s increasingly data-based, history will look on Nelly as the true ‘GOAT’ of animal oracles. Of course, it’s only a matter of time until we see an actual goat on the list, too!
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