September 11, 2011. The dearly departed Paul the psychic octopus made a name for himself during last year’s Soccer World Cup in South Africa by successfully picking the result of Germany’s matches before backing Spain to go on and win the tournament.
Kiwi sheep, Sonny Wool, is munching out his own legacy – he backed New Zealand to beat Tonga in the opening match of the 2011 Rugby World Cup by choosing between two containers of food, each marked with a flag of the teams playing.
As a lamb, Sonny Wool predicted when it was going to rain, according to his owner Dan Boyd.
“He’s a sheep, he’s one of 40 million, but he’s probably the only special psychic sheep in the country,” Boyd told The Telegraph newspaper.
Boyd was confident Sonny Wool would be able to handle the pressure and attention, as he preferred the company of humans anyway.
“He’s a special sheep and it probably stems from when his mum was pregnant and she had a condition. His sister Maggie is actually blind and he’s a bit socially inept. He’s got a few fetishes for things – one is light at night and he really likes rugby balls so that’s where he gets his name from, Sonny Wool,” said owner Dan Boyd.
Prompting headlines of “Ewe beauty” and Wool he, or won’t he?”, we’ll follow the progress of Sonny Wool through the tournament.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezRygo-28Ow&w=640&h=390]