Paul(the Octopus Who Predicted World Cup Matches)is Dead

Paul the Octopus is dead and even before the ink has dried - in him, not on the contracts that his handlers presumably signed as he became the world's first celebrity cephalopod - a successor has been found, and given the same name. Whether the French-born successor displays the same power of discernment in his mussels remains to be seen, but Diego Maradona is not the only one who is unlikely to shed tears about the earlier Paul passing on. While punters (and the merchandisers who had cashed in on octomania this year) may welcome the arrival of another soothsaying octopus, the betting industry is very unlikely to be enthused. Paul's prognostications and legendary prescience cost that industry an estimated £1 million during this year's FIFA World Cup . So the chances are they will be hoping that Paul II will get his tentacles in a twist, or move to the great aquarium in the sky before the next big sporting extravaganza. Needless to add, if public belief in the infallibility of incorruptible invertebrates rises, successive Pauls must be kept beyond the tentacles of the match-fixing mafia.

It is disappointing, however, that the tentacled tipster's managers have announced that Paul I would be buried in the precincts of the German aquarium where he lived. It would have been far more beneficial to donate his body to science so that light could be shed on his marvellous talent. If it was the result of some cephalopodan genetic peculiarity, a new career avenue could have opened up for squid and octopi the world over. Rather than being the stuff of horror movies or seafood platters, octopus oracles could be a new line of business for coastal communities.