A giant octopus has a brand new playground. On Friday, Mar 16, a team from Vancouver Aquarium®, an Ocean Wise® initiative, transferred a female Giant Pacific octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini) to the ocean off the coast of Bowen Island, B.C. A close collaboration with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), this release is a first for the not-for-profit organization.
The animal care team at Vancouver Aquarium recently noticed the octopus had become reproductively active. “We first observed the octopus spending more and more time outside her den which is a behaviour associated with looking for a mate,” said Ruby Banwait, senior aquarium biologist at Vancouver Aquarium.
Female octopuses have an ovary-like tissue in their mantle, the large cavity that is attached to their arms, which produces an egg mass.
When staff recently noticed eggs, they received permission from DFO to transfer the octopus to the ocean. The two organizations created a plan to return the cephalopod to a den in nearby waters.
“We wanted to give the octopus the best chance and that included diving with her to the ocean floor, limiting her exposure to open water where octopuses are most vulnerable to predation, and finding a suitable habitat for her,” adds Banwait.
“We couldn’t be happier with the outcome from this mission. While at the Aquarium, this octopus fascinated countless visitors who caught an up-close glimpse of this incredible animal. Now, with this next step, she is back in the ocean where she can find a mate, lay eggs, and contribute to our local Giant Pacific octopus population.”
Giant Pacific octopuses are believed to be one of the largest and longest-living octopus species in the world. Their habitat ranges throughout the Pacific Ocean from California to Alaska and extends west to the Aleutian Islands and Japan.
They live in intertidal zones to depths of more than 100 metres and spend most of their lives located in or nearby their den; these nocturnal animals leave sporadically to hunt and, towards the end of their short lifespan, to find a mate.
While relatively little is known about the Giant Pacific octopus population, it is not listed under the Species At Risk Act (SARA). However, like all marine animals, octopuses are not immune to changes in the oceans; ocean warming, ocean acidification, oxygen limitation, and more can impact population size.