World Cup: Mystic mutts and clairvoyant critters
England fans will be disappointed with the result at last night's game against Argentina, but perhaps not entirely surprised. Another follower of the World Cup action - a mystic mutt by the name of Winston - accurately forecast that the elongated South American country would progress to Sunday's final. According to the Oxford Mail, "the psychic pooch" had predicted the results in each of England's previous matches, too. We await word from Winston on which team will lift the internationally contested trophy.
Although Thomas Tuchel's men didn't quite make the grade, we'll cheer you up with a round-up of other clairvoyant critters which have make predictions in the world of sport over the years.
Paul the psychic octopus
One of the first we can remember was Paul the octopus who shot to fame thanks to his accurate score predictions during the 2010 World Cup. Keepers at the Sea Life Centre in Oberhausen, Germany, presented him with two boxes of food, each displaying the flags of the teams facing Germany in upcoming matches.
Paul correctly chose the winner in all seven of Germany's matches, as well as the overall winner Spain, earning him the second mentions of "the cephalopod soothsayer" in The Times, and "the lovable psychic cephalopod" in the South China Morning Post.
Paul the octopus sadly died in 2010, passing the mantle to others, including...
Achilles the clairvoyant cat
Achilles, or "the feline pundit" for the Telegraph, correctly predicted the winner of the 2018 World Cup's first game between Russia and Saudi Arabia, as well as the winner of the 2017 Fifa Confederations Cup.
Mystic Marcus the micro-pig
Mystic Marcus, or "the piggy prophet" for the Telegraph, identified the winner of the 2014 World Cup, the Brexit referendum and Donald Trump's first election victory, according to his owner.
Kenny the ferret
Kenny the ferret - or "the furry fortune teller" for the Hartlepool Mail - was accurate with his prediction that England would beat Wales in their group stage match at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
There have also been political prognosticators and financial fortune tellers in the animal kingdom; Otto the psychic octopus - or "the limelight-loving creature" for the Telegraph - predicted a victory for 'Remain' in the Brexit referendum, according to staff at the Sea Life Centre in Manchester, while Billy, a fortune-telling goat, or "the cloven-hoofed sage", for the Metro, predicted (incorrectly) that Sir Keir Starmer would never become prime minister.
Meanwhile Mr Goxx, a hamster said to have outperformed human investors at cryptocurrency trading, was dubbed "the furry financier", "the tiny trader" and "the business-minded rodent" by BBC News.
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