Featured Image Credit: Newport Coastal Adventure
The Central Coast Aquarium in Avila Beach, California has a new resident. A young female giant Pacific octopus, moved into the aquarium after a fisherman accidentally caught her in October. The octopus was named Joan, after one of the aquarium’s supporters.
Joan is just under a year old but already has the intelligence of a 4-year-old child. She will be kept at the aquarium for a year before being released where she was found. To keep her hunting skills sharp for when she is released, the octopus is being fed live prey.
When she reaches five years of age, Joan will be an average of 16 feet long and 110 pounds. And she will have a long life ahead of her; giant Pacific octopus grow bigger and live longer than other octopus species. Joan has eight arms covered in more than 2,000 suction cups. The suction cups are used to taste and smell. In the wild Joan will swim the brisk waters of the Pacific, swimming at depths of put to 330 feet.
If you want to meet her in person, you can see Joan on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sunday. There is a live octopus talk and feeding at the Central Coast Aquarium on those days.