London, Dec. 19: Though memories of Paul the psychic octopus of FIFA World Cup fame may have faded following its death, it won’t be the last of its kind: a mystic monkey in North Tyneside has correctly predicted the results of the first two tests of the Ashes series.
According to The Sun, Jack, a cotton-top tamarin at Tynemouth’s Blue Reef Aquarium, has stunned his keepers with his fortune-telling skills and could become a huge star if his streak continues.
Jack’s prophecies about the outcome of the first two Ashes Test matches were spot on: he foretold that the Brisbane Test would be a draw and England would win the Adelaide one.
Though Australia has won the third Test at Perth on Sunday, what Jack predicted about this match is not known yet.
Jack’s method of prediction is simple: he is put before two bowls of food — one marked with the English flag and the other Australia’s: if he makes a pick, he picks the winner; if he leaves them both, it shows a draw.
An aquarium representative, Ms Anna Etchells, said: “We were challenged to see if we were able to come up with a rival to Paul the octopus, who correctly predicted Germany’s results in the World Cup Finals.”
“Although we do have our own octopus, we took the view that monkeys are significantly more intelligent than cephalopods and decided to give Jack a chance,” she added.