Giant Pacific octopus - Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium

Did you know?

Enteroctopus dofleini

Brainy and beautiful, this is the largest octopus species on Earth! Divers in Puget Sound often see mature octopuses that are 15 feet across and weigh about 50 pounds.

Meet Gertie!

Peer in into the den

Hiding in camouflage

Can you spot it?

Octopuses love to hide in rocky crevices or “dens”, and we’ve given our octopus plenty of those in her new habitat. Look around – you’ll soon spot a arm (they're not tentacles), often camouflaged to match the rocks.

Eat clams And grow fast.	A newly hatched octopus is ¼-inch long. Since it only lives 3 to 5 years it must grow fast!	Resting in a den by day, it emerges at night to feast on crabs and clams, doubling its weight every 2 or 3 months.
Protecting the eggs for the rest of her life.	After mating, a female giant Pacific octopus lays thousands of eggs in long strands of around 250, attached to the roof of her den. She then protects without eating for around 7 months.	She’ll only lay eggs once – and soon after that she will die. It’s the last, most important thing she does.
Puzzle fiend and master of camouflage.	Octopuses are curious and smart, and love to explore their environment using their strong, dexterous arms. They have been known to unscrew jars and solve puzzles.	They are also masters of disguise, changing the color of their skin from moment to moment via pigment cells just under the skin.

Protecting the Ocean

It takes all of us.

THE THREAT: Happily, the giant Pacific octopus population is in good shape, since they have such short lives, lay so many eggs and are not heavily fished.

TAKE ACTION: But other species featured in our aquariums aren’t as lucky. Find out more about protecting our ocean on our Care conservation page.

Take Action

Aquarium Stories

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