The octopus ...

Octopus Paul, better known as the so-called "octopus oracle" sits on a soccer ball in his aquarium at the Sea Life Aquarium in the western German city of Oberhausen on July 9.

Octopus Paul, better known as the so-called "octopus oracle" sits on a soccer ball in his aquarium at the Sea Life Aquarium in the western German city of Oberhausen on July 9.

The octopus became a media star after correctly picking all eight World Cup results, seven German World Cup results and the final. To reward his perfect prediction record, Paul's German handlers dropped a shiny golden replica of the coveted Jules Rimet trophy into his tank.

The eight-legged oracle, who now has more than four times as many fans on social networking site Facebook as German Chancellor Angela Merkel, seemed particularly pleased with his prize, wrapping several tentacles around it.

In the wake of his phenomenal success, speculation has been rife about what Paul will do next.

One tongue-in-cheek bookmaker gave punters the chance to place a bet on Paul's future career. They offered odds of 8-1 that he would become a bookmaker himself, 20-1 that he would release a record, 100-1 that he would unveil his own brand of calamari.

But Paul is going to retire.

The intuitive invertebrate will "step back from the official oracle business",Tanja Munzig, a spokeswoman for the Sea Life aquarium in Oberhausen, said. "He won't give any more oracle predictions - either in football, nor in politics, lifestyle or economy," she said. "Paul will get back to his former job, namely making children laugh."