PREVIEW

BY MARK WORGAN

As football fans around the world enjoy the World Cup, one pundit has already stuck his trunk out and made his first prediction.

At Cologne Zoo in Germany, Tarak the mystic elephant has tipped the host nation to secure victory over Curacao in their upcoming match. He did so by choosing a ball with the German flag on and crushing it.

Animal predictions have become a familiar part of major international tournaments, with a succession of creatures gaining global attention for their attempts to forecast results.

Most notably, there was Paul the Octopus, another German resident, who found fame by correctly predicting Spain’s run to victory in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Tarak's choice will no doubt delight German supporters, and looks a fairly solid one - as Germany are heavy favourites to beat Curacao, the smallest country ever to appear at a World Cup.

Whether Tarak can match the fame of past tournament fortune-tellers remains to be seen, but for now the elephant has firmly backed Germany to come out on top - and looks to be on to a winner.