World Cup 2014 Predictions: Who Do Animals Say Will Win the Soccer Matches?

During the 2010 World Cup, a then unknown German octopus named "Paul" shot to international stardom when he correctly predicted the winner of all seven matches that Germany played in. For this year's World Cup in Brazil, all sorts of animals across the UK are getting in on the action by picking match winners.

Penguins

According to the BBC, the Gentoo penguins housed in the National Sea Life Centre in Birmingham have predicted a tie between Italy and England for the clubs' opening match on Saturday. The penguins select the winner by hopping on one of three rocks having either a picture of one of the competing clubs or a "draw" picture.

"Our Gentoos are really enthusiastic and love playing new games so [they] have quickly got into the spirit of choosing the winning flags," said James Robson, centre curator. However, it remains to be seen just how reliable the Gentoos will be; apparently when asked to repeat their prediction for England vs. Italy, one of the penguins then chose victory for England. So we'll just have to wait and see what happens on Saturday.

Macaws

Macaws are considered to be the national birds of Brazil. It should come as no surprise then that a pair of macaws, Sarge and Oscar, accurately predicted a win for Brazil in its opener against Croatia. The pair are kept by John Nattrass, a bird keeper at a farm in Cumbria, England. But fans of the English club may want to hope the birds aren't accurate in their predictions, as they did not favor England in its opener against Italy on Saturday.

"If their predictions are right, maybe I'll start putting some money on them," Nattrass confessed. Sarge and Oscar have been making their predictions by choosing between two dishes containing bird feed which bear the names of the competing clubs.

"I do hope they are wrong [about England]," Nattras said.

Keeping a proper perspective

According to the BBC, these so-called predictions should be considered as nothing but a "bit of fun" in the words of marketing expert Keith Hicks, of the University of West England. Hicks thinks these ploys are simply attempts by businesses or towns to compete in their local markets for tourists' attention.

I think it is a bit of fun and like most of these things they become a tradition and it all adds to the mystique and fun of the competition," Hicks concluded.