A crocodile named Dirty Harry that picked the winner of the World Cup has predicted election victory for prime minister Julia Gillard.

The saltwater croc made his choice in his enclosure in the northern city of Darwin when he snatched a chicken carcass dangling beneath a caricature of Ms Gillard. Opposition leader Tony Abbott's chicken was left hanging.

Analysts say Australia's election could be the closest contest since 1961 when a single seat decided who governed.

The crocodile used a similar technique to correctly predict that Spain would defeat the Netherlands in the World Cup last month.

He joined an octopus named Paul in Germany, said to have correctly picked the winner for the final, plus seven other games.