Sealife Centre otters predict the fortunes of West Brom, Birmingham City, Aston Villa and Wolves for the Sunday Mercury

Jul 25 2010 by Gregg Evans, Sunday Mercury

Villa, Blues, Wolves, Albion – who would the all see-ing otters choose?

Perhaps jealous of the celebrity octopus from the Sea-Life Aquarium in Oberhausen, Germany, the furry foursome kicked off quickly.

The Aston Villa box sparked initial interest, but it was Blues who really got the team going.

Mango swam off with the box firmly in her mouth, closely followed in her tracks by her three sisters.

Next to tumble was Villa, but only after further close inspection.

That left the Asian short-clawed otters to debate the merits of the two Black Country clubs.

In the end, they picked Baggies as their third choice, leaving Wolves to languish at the foot of our table.

So Blues fans, it looks like another promising season at St Andrews, with the Villa trailing in your team’s wake.

And boing boing Baggies fans out there will now be looking forward to pipping their close neighbours as the two line up together for the first time ever in the Premier League.

For the past three years, the five-year-old otters have provided entertainment for sightseeing youngsters at the Sea-Life Centre.

And they’ve promised to come back to predict some Premiership results for us during the coming season.

“They’re very clever little mammals but they won’t perform for anyone,” says Emma Juxon, who feeds the otters at the tropical paradise near to Birmingham’s Brindley Place.

“It takes months to build up a relationship with them, but it seems they’ve taken to Birmingham City instantly. They’re not too keen on the Wolves, though. Let’s see if they’re correct.”

Paul the octopus burst onto the scene during this year’s World Cup when he correctly predicted the outcome of all seven of Germany’s games plus the Spain vs Netherlands final.

The eight-legged mystic wowed supporters across the globe with his psychic powers, then bowed out with his 100 percent record still intact.

While he will now settle for a low-key life, Mango & Co have other plans. They’re determined to prove they’re not one-hit wonders.