Octopusezzzzzzzzzzzz!

A perk of working at marine science center is getting to play with octopuses, yes octopuses, not octopi. We've got two - one is a Giant Pacific Octopus (the largest in the world) and the other lesser known, Red Octopus. Both were located nearby in the Puget Sound by local divers. While name hunting, I realized the Giant is also referred to as the GPO....sounds a lot likes C3PO, eh? So the name was born - G3PO, clever, huh? So of course, the Red needed to have a name that matched, easy, R2...it's a red after all isn't it and the second one...total match. Since having gained R2, she mostly hangs out in this moon snail shell and hides. One rare day as seen in the pictures below and video, she was feeling quite social. Since these she has laid eggs and is hiding back in the moon snail. It's possible the eggs are viable but they may also not be...only time will tell and unfortunately, she'll die soon - octopuses die a few months after eggs have hatched or been laid. Bummer. So, we knew R2 is a female. We're not yet sure on G3PO but man is he growin'! It started out hiding forever and a day in a glass bottle but has since then outgrown that and moved to a barnacle shell, and is now just hanging out in the back of the tank. We anticipate it's less than a year old since these giants get quite large and only live around 4 years - so the good part of it being young is we'll likely be able to keep it all winter long. I don't have any good shots of G3PO since it's not been as showy...just wait!

http://youtu.be/LP3aEZ05yE4