Berlin ? There’s been plenty of ink for Paul the octopus lately, and why not?

Octopus oracle Paul chooses a mussel from a glass tank marked with a Spanish flag Friday in the SeaLife Aquarium in Oberhausen, Germany. Paul predicts Spain will beat Holland and win the World Cup.

The octopus, also known as the “Oracle of Oberhausen,” has successfully predicted the winner of six World Cup matches so far.

Now, Paul has forecast the winner of Sunday’s championship match. And rather than go out on a limb — or maybe eight of them — the critter is sticking with the favorite, picking Spain over the Netherlands.

Handlers of the 2 1/2-year-old floppy octopus — a resident of the Oberhausen Sea Life aquarium — usually have him make predictions only for games in which Germany plays. But because of Paul’s recent worldwide fame and demand for his pick for the final, they made an exception.

Here’s how the seer sucker makes his prognostications: Officials put a mussel inside each of two clear plastic boxes bearing the national flags of the teams in his tank. Paul then makes his choice by opening the lid with his tentacles and devouring one of the treats.

Millions across Europe, in Taiwan and elsewhere watched a live TV broadcast Friday of his choice of Spain, complete with breathless commentary. He also predicted Germany over Uruguay in today’s third-place game.

Paul has gotten business proposals, has thousands of Facebook fans and even has the attention of world leaders.

Animal rights group PETA wants him freed. Many Germans — upset that he correctly picked Spain over Germany in Wednesday’s semifinal — want him fried.

“Paul is such a professional oracle — he doesn’t even care that hundreds of journalists are watching and commenting on every move he makes,” said Stefan Porwoll, the Sea Life aquarium manager. “We’re so proud of him.”

After his prediction of his home country’s loss came true, German TV showed footage of a grilled octopus. That prompted Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero to fret about the safety of “El Pulpo Paul,” as he’s known in Spain.

“I am concerned about the octopus,” Zapatero said. “I’m thinking about sending in a team to protect the octopus because obviously it was very spectacular that he should get Spain’s victory right from there.”

In response to hundreds of angry e-mails from Germans, the aquarium actually took extra precautions, Porwoll said.

“I even told our guards and people at the entrance to keep a close look at possible football fans coming after Paul for revenge,” he said, adding that the hate mail was outweighed by declarations of love and requests for predictions.

PETA says Paul’s tank is too small. But Porwoll said the creature was born in captivity and has never had to deal with any natural enemies, so dumping Paul into the Atlantic would likely mean death. He could live up to four years in captivity, Porwoll added.

In the meantime, he might have a future beyond World Cup. A reporter from Greece asked if the mollusk medium could foresee the end of the financial crisis, and German TV stations have offered lucrative contracts, Porwoll said.

After Arab news sites reported Paul’s picks, it was suggested he be sent to Iraq to choose between two bitter rivals — Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his main challenger, Ayad Allawi — vying to head the new government.