A to Z Cephalopods: G for Giant Pacific Octopus

© 2013 Sylvia Liu

Giant Pacific Octopus Facts:

• Giant Pacific octopus are the charismatic octopus often found in aquariums.

• They are very smart (they can find and get food out of difficult mazes & puzzles; they recognize specific humans)

• They are escape artists (they can fit through any hole that their beak can fit through)

• The female giant Pacific octopus is the ultimate martyr mother. After her eggs are fertilized, she retreats to a cave and slowly & carefully braids the eggs (100,000 or so) into long chains that she attaches to the roof, which takes about a month. For about six months, she constantly waves her arms & blows water over them to keep them clean. When they emerge, she blows them out of the cave. She has not eaten the entire time and dies of starvation.

• An aquarium that had a giant Pacific octopus and several dogfish sharks soon found the sharks mysteriously turning up dead in the morning. Cameras caught the culprit:

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