Blog: Giant Pacific Octopus

We’re all familiar with the many animals that live among us as they forage for food and navigate around buildings and parks throughout the city. But you might be surprised by new research that shows that a very different neighbor, our very own giant Pacific octopus, has something in common with these city-dwelling animals.

The giant Pacific octopus (GPO) is the largest octopus species in the world—yet little is known of its biology and ecology. Nor is it possible to know exactly how many GPOs are living in Puget Sound.

As we finish up Octopus Week, February 18–26, we thought we’d share the love with a couple amazing relatives of the giant Pacific octopus.

As you may already know, we couldn’t play Cupid to giant Pacific octopuses Pancake and Raspberry this year—turns out Cupid’s arrow had already hit the mark with female Raspberry, who started laying eggs before her blind date with male Pancake. 

In anticipation of Octopus Week, February 18–26, as well as our Octopus Blind Date on February 14 (Valentine’s Day!), we asked Senior Aquarist Kathryn Kegel to answer a few questions for us.

Last month, during our annual octopus census, Aquarium staff and divers from around Puget Sound counted 41 giant Pacific octopuses (GPOs) at 13 locations. Below is a Q&A with Senior Aquarist Kathryn Kegel about the results.

Going to work can be such a drag, right? You get up early and choose an outfit for the day…then there’s the commute…and when you finally arrive, it feels like you’re surrounded by a bunch of wild animals!

We can look at another human being and estimate their age pretty easily—but it’s not so simple with octopuses. Scientists haven’t yet found a reliable way to identify the age of giant Pacific octopuses (or GPOs), since no part of the animal’s body, even the beak, shows any growth rings or other measures. 

The Seattle Aquarium is making some changes to our annual giant Pacific octopus (GPO) census, which means we won’t be doing the annual count (which in recent years has been conducted over the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend) this winter.

Over 70 octopus experts and enthusiasts gathered at the Seattle Aquarium on Saturday, March 29 for our second biennial giant Pacific octopus (GPO) workshop. The day-long event highlighted current research on Enteroctopus dofleini, the world’s largest species of octopus. 

In November of last year news reports of the killing of a giant Pacific octopus near Alki Point raised questions about the possible need for protective measures for the species.