Octopus paul is set to retire from soccer predictions

The invertebrate will retire after prediciting all of Germany’s World Cup results correctly as well as the final between Spain and Holland.

The news will come as a shock to many people who have won up to half a million pounds between them during the tournament by placing bets based on the octopus’s predictions, according to bookmakers William Hill.

“He is retiring and says thank you to the whole world. It was a great World Cup,” Tanja Munzig, a spokeswoman for the Sea Life aquarium in Oberhausen, said.

“He will what he likes to do best: play with his handlers and delight children who come visit to him.”

However, Paul made one final appearance on Monday when aquarium employees presented the octopus with a golden cup.

Although the cup was garnished with mussels, Paul ignored it as it was lowered into his tank.

Paul has become a global sensation as he called all of Germany’s games correctly, including its semi-final defeat by Spain. He finished his career at the peak of his game by forecasting correctly that Spain would beat Holland in Sunday’s final.

The octopus had a 100 per cent for this tournament and only has one blemish on its record when he wrongly predicted Germany would beat Spain in the Euro 2008 final.

But just as Paul has announced his retirement from predicting football matches it looks like the eight legged wonder could be enticed into a marketing career.

Spanish businessmen are planning to take the octopus to Spain and rename him Paulo, using him as a mascot at a major food event.

A string of bookmakers from around the world have also expressed an interest to buy the octopus from the Ouberhausen Sea Life Centre, with marketing experts predicting he could become a big hit with advertisers

Stranger wild goat made my day

Stranger wild goat made my day the goat is among the cleanest of animals, and is a much more selective feeder than cows, sheep, chickens and even dogs. goats do eat many different species of plants, but do not want to eat food that has been contaminated or that has been on the floor or the ground.

Kashmir goat | Goat as a member of the royal army | Billy the goat

Having a goat as a member of the Royal Army might seem funny to most people, but it has been a British tradition for more than 200 years.

Lance Corporal William Windsor has served in the army for the last eight years, traveling overseas, meeting royalty and leading military parades. His comrades from the 1st Battalion of the Royal Welsh said goodbye to their loyal colleague as he walked by to the trailer that took him to the zoo, where he will spend his retirement.

Billy the Goat is a Kashmir goat and was offered as a gift to the Royal Army, by the Queen herself. Billy’s replacement will be announced in June, when another kid goat will be picked from a heard in Great Orme, North Wales.

Photos by PA and Reuters.

Royal salute: Billy, a Kashmir goat, was a gift from the Queen in 2001

Guard of honour: The retiring goat, wearing full ceremonial dress, is led out for the last time by handler Lance Corporal Ryan Arthur

Fond farewell: The route from pen to trailer was lined by soldiers from the Chester-based regiment to say thank you to Billy for many years of service

Full ceremony: Billy, who is nine, prepares to travel in a trailer to Whipsnade Zoo

Pride: Billy, whose real name is William Windsor, bears a silver plaque - a gift from the Queen - a tradition that goes back to Queen Victoria's donation in 1884

Leaving home: Lance Cpl Ryan Arthur leads Billy through their digs in Chester

World's ugliest dog competitors moving and grooving all around the world

Are These the World's Ugliest Dogs from the time when 2005 and 2009 ?


Here's Looking at You, Elwood
Elwood the dog, sporting a Mohawk and a totally freaky tongue, is probably used to attracting attention. He's a hairless Chinese Crested, a breed of dog well known for its "so-ugly-it's-cute" attributes. Pictured here in 2006, Elwood competed against several other dogs of the breed in the "World's Ugliest Dog" competition in Petaluma, Calf. Click through the gallery to see other contenders for the, um, "honor." (Little Elwood took the title in 2007.)
Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images


Gus Gives Us a Wink
At the 2008 World's Ugliest Dog competition, little Gus gets love from his owner. We're guessing his one eye and three legs gave him an edge.
Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images


Gus, the Full View
Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images


All Hail Princess Chelsea
Robert Rond holds his Chinese Crested at the 2008 World's Ugliest Dog contest.
Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images


A Face Only an Owner Could Love
A dog named Pee Wee Martini gets his moment in the spotlight at the 2007 World's Ugliest Dog contest.
Photo: David Paul Morris/Getty Images


Archie 'Wins' the Blue Ribbon in 2006!
Heather Peoples of Phoenix hoists her winning Chinese Crested dog named Archie at the 2006 competition.
Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images


Meet Lucielle Bald, 2006 Competitor
Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images


Don't Hate Us Because We're Beautiful
Poppy, Ellie, and their owners at the 2007 show.
Photo: David Paul Morris/Getty Images


Aw, Mom, You're Embarrassing Me
Poppy gets a kiss from her owner, 2007.
Photo: David Paul Morris/Getty Images


Rascal, the 2005 Champ
Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images


Feelin' the Wind in My Hair
2006's winner, Archie.
Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images








Transvestite dog

And now, the king of kings - Bob, the dog from Hell:

Two-year-old house cat Yoda was born with four ears

If Batman had a cat, it would probably look something like this.

The household pet, named Yoda, was born with an extra set of ears.

Valerie and Ted Rock took him in two years ago after visiting a bar near their home in Chicago, where he was being passed round by curious drinkers.

He was one of a large litter and the owners were looking for a home for him.

The couple immediately fell for the freaky feline and asked the owner if they could adopt him. He agreed and the couple named the cat Yoda, after the pointy-eared Jedi knight in Star Wars.

Valerie, 65, said: 'We were at a pub on the south side of Chicago with a group of friends when we noticed a small cage sitting on the bar and people passing around a kitten.

'He had been part of a large litter and the owners were looking to find a home for him.

'Ted and I had just lost a cat that was our pet for over 20 years, and we were sure we were done with cats.

'When he was passed around he reached for Ted, crawled up into the crook of his neck and fell asleep - Ted was a goner.

'It was a done deal when the kitten made himself at home on Ted's shoulder.

'We decided to name him Yoda. I understand the Star Wars character was based on George Lucas' cat.'

After adopting the eight-week-old kitten into their Illinois home, Valerie decided to have Yoda checked out with the local vet
But the vet was mystified by his unique appearance.

'The vet had never seen anything like it before,' explains Valerie. 'He immediately went to the internet and found the four-eared cat in Germany.

'We have spoken with other vets in our acquaintance, and they likewise had never encountered anything like this.

'We began to realise that we had something very special.

'As a result, he has been an indoor cat and has a chip installed in case he gets lost. Yoda is so different that we were concerned that he might be catnapped.'

Yoda's extra 'flaps' are separate to the base of his skull, with one placed slightly behind the other.

Yet despite his unusual looks, Valerie is sure Yoda's behaviour - and hearing - are quite normal.

'Yoda's hearing is normal as far as we know,' says Valerie. 'People do a double take when they see him or his picture. It is great fun showing him off.

'We have actually had people ask if we had his ears cut to look this way.

'But he is a perfectly normal affectionate, curious cat and is a joy to have around.

'He is not afraid of anything and is very sociable unlike some of the other cats I have owned.

'But he does have an interesting obsession with bread - I can't leave bread on the counter for a moment.

'And when he purrs, it is not audible. The only way I know that he is purring is to put my finger on his throat to feel the vibration.

'He also is not very vocal. He meows, but only softly, and not very often which is a good thing.'

A pure white horse 'albino'

The rare 'albino' foal that's become a star of the New Forest
It's one of the rarest sights in the equine world.

A pure white horse is hardly ever seen outside a pub sign.

And almost all of them have begun life as a darker colour before turning to light grey.

So crowds have been flocking to catch a glimpse of this beautiful foal, born among a group of New Forest ponies near Lyndhurst, Hampshire.

The spindly-legged youngster - also pictured, inset, with his dun-coloured mother - has quickly become the star attraction in Britain's newest national park.

The fact the foal has a brown mother proves that he is a cremello blue-eyed cream and not an albino

The enthusiasts who first spotted him thought he could be an albino, but experts have now ruled that out.

They say the giveaway is his eyes, which are blue. An albino's would be pink.

The technical term for the colt is a cremello blue-eyed cream.


As well as their blue eyes, such animals have some pale golden pigment in their coats and skin. Albinos have no non-white colouring at all.

Sue Westwood, clerk to the Verderers, the group which protects and conserves landscape and wildlife of the New Forest, said: 'It is virtually unheard of in horses to have an albino and cremellos are very unusual.

'Unfortunately, they are not very hardy at all.

'They find it hard to deal with sunburn in the summer and with the cold rain in the winter.'

The sensitivity to light may explain why the foal's eyes are half-closed. Or he could just be trying to look relaxed in the face of all the attention.