The Great Octopus Escape

It was early in the morning in 2016. Workers arrived at the National Aquarium of New Zealand and began their morning routine. They said hello to the colorful fish and prepared to welcome the day’s visitors.

But when they arrived at the octopus tank, they were shocked: Inky the octopus was gone! There were no signs that someone had kidnapped Inky. All the doors were fully shut. The tank hadn’t been smashed.

The top of his tank was slightly open though. There were octopus tracks on the floor, which had left a wet trail. The slippery trail led to a small drain in the floor. Inky must have squeezed through a tiny gap at the top of his tank, slithered down the drain, and traveled through the water pipes that led to the ocean.

Inky had escaped!

It was early in the morning in 2016. Workers arrived at the National Aquarium of New Zealand. They began their morning routine. They said hello to the colorful fish. They were getting ready to welcome the day’s visitors.

But then they saw the octopus tank. They were shocked. Inky the octopus was gone! There were no signs that someone had kidnapped Inky. All the doors were fully shut. The tank hadn’t been smashed.

The top of his tank was slightly open though. There were octopus tracks on the floor. The tracks had left a wet trail. The slippery trail led to a small drain in the floor. Inky must have squeezed through a tiny gap at the top of his tank. He must have slithered down the drain and traveled through the water pipes that led to the ocean.

Inky had escaped!

Before Inky lived in his tank, he was a wild octopus in the sea. A local fisherman found him stuck in a trap. The poor little octopus was hurt, so the fisherman brought him to the aquarium to help the octopus recover.

Inky was in a very fragile state. Some of his long arms were shortened, and he had painful scars across his body. The keepers at the aquarium took care of him and gently fed him fish. As Inky recovered, he regrew his arms. (This is just one of the many jaw-dropping superpowers octopuses have!)

Over time, Inky’s keepers noticed his curiosity. He would reach up with his arms to feel the workers’ hands as they fed him. Sometimes he even squirted water at them!

“He would want to know what’s happening on the outside,” said Rob Yarrell, the aquarium’s manager.

Before Inky lived in his tank, he lived in the sea. He was a wild octopus. A local fisherman found him stuck in a trap. The poor little octopus was hurt. The fisherman brought Inky to the aquarium to help the octopus get better.

Inky was in a very fragile state. Some of his long arms were shortened. He had painful scars across his body. The keepers at the aquarium took care of him. They gently fed him fish. Inky got better. He regrew his arms. (This is just one of many jaw-dropping superpower octopuses have!)

Over time, Inky’s keepers noticed he was curious. He would reach up with his arms to feel the workers’ hands as they fed him. Sometimes he even squirted water at them!

“He would want to know what’s happening on the outside,” said Rob Yarrell, the aquarium’s manager.

Yarrell wasn’t too surprised that Inky went exploring one night and escaped. “Octopuses are famous escape artists,” Yarrell explained.

The sea creatures are known to be clever and curious. In one experiment, a scientist gave an octopus a jar with a crab inside. The octopus figured out how to open the jar and grab the crab!

In the wild, octopuses learn to hide and sneak up on prey, like fish. They build shelters on the ocean floor. They even play when they get bored!

Octopuses also have soft, flexible bodies and no bones. This means they can squish through extremely small spaces. Most of these creatures can squeeze through a hole the size of a quarter! That’s probably how Inky fit into the small drain and slipped out to the sea.

Yarrell wasn’t too surprised that Inky went exploring one night and escaped. “Octopuses are famous escape artists,” Yarrell explained.

The sea creatures are known to be clever and curious. In one experiment, a scientist gave an octopus a jar with a crab inside. The octopus figured out how to open the jar and grab the crab!

In the wild, octopuses learn to hide. They sneak up on prey, like fish. They build shelters on the ocean floor. They even play when they get bored!

Octopuses also have soft, flexible bodies. They have no bones. This means they can squish through extremely small spaces. Most of these creatures can squeeze through a hole the size of a quarter! That’s probably how Inky fit into the small drain and slipped out to the sea.

Inky now had a new life back in the wild. As a curious little octopus in the sea, Inky has surely had many thrilling adventures hunting for crabs and building a home in a little cave.

As for the aquarium workers?

“We’ll miss him,” said Yarrell after Inky left. “But we hope he does well in his new life.”

Inky now had a new life back in the wild. He was a curious little octopus in the sea. Inky has surely had many thrilling adventures hunting for crabs and building a home in a little cave.

As for the aquarium workers?

“We’ll miss him,” said Yarrell after Inky left. “But we hope he does well in his new life.”

• Octopuses have eight arms. They use their arms to crawl around, explore the seafloor, and grab their favorite foods.
• The powerful suckers on their arms help them hold, smell, and taste food.
• Octopuses have a clever way of staying safe if an enemy is chasing them. They squirt black ink at the scary animal! The dark cloud confuses the other animal, and the octopus swims away.
• Octopuses are super-smart. They can solve problems and puzzles—and even build things. One octopus used rocks to build a home with a door!
• Octopuses are a type of invertebrate, or an animal without a backbone. In fact, octopuses don’t have any bones! This helps them fit into tiny spaces—like this bottle.

• Octopuses have eight arms. They use their arms to crawl around, explore the seafloor, and grab their favorite foods.
• The powerful suckers on their arms help them hold, smell, and taste food.
• Octopuses have a clever way of staying safe if an enemy is chasing them. They squirt black ink at the scary animal! The dark cloud confuses the other animal, and the octopus swims away.
• Octopuses are super-smart. They can solve problems and puzzles—and even build things. One octopus used rocks to build a home with a door!
• Octopuses are a type of invertebrate, or an animal without a backbone. In fact, octopuses don’t have any bones! This helps them fit into tiny spaces—like this bottle.