Inky the Octopus Escapes From a New Zealand Aquarium

[Garrison Hilliard]

By DAN BILEFSKYAPRIL 13, 2016



Inky the octopus at National Aquarium of New Zealand in Napier. Credit
National Aquarium of New Zealand

It was an audacious nighttime escape.

After busting through an enclosure, the nimble contortionist appears
to
have quietly crossed the floor, slithered through a narrow drain hole
about
six inches in diameter and jumped into the sea. Then he disappeared.

This was no Houdini, but rather a common New Zealand octopus called
Inky,
about the size of a soccer ball.

The breakout at the National Aquarium of New Zealand in Napier, which
has
captured the imagination of New Zealanders and made headlines around
the
world, apparently began when Inky slipped through a small gap at the
top of
his tank.

Octopus tracks suggest he then scampered eight feet across the floor
and
slid down a 164-foot-long drainpipe that dropped him into Hawke’s Bay,
on
the east coast of North Island, according to reports in New Zealand’s
news
media.

The aquarium’s keepers noticed the escape when they came to work and
discovered that Inky was not in his tank. A less independence-minded
octopus, Blotchy, remained behind.

The aquarium’s manager, Rob Yarrall, told Radio New Zealand that
employees
had searched the aquarium’s pipes after discovering Inky’s trail, to
no
avail.

The escape happened several months ago, but it only recently came to
light.
“He managed to make his way to one of the drain holes that go back to
the
ocean, and off he went,” Mr. Yarrall said. “Didn’t even leave us a
message.”

Photo

Photographs with notes showing the path Inky may have taken in
escaping his
tank at the National Aquarium of New Zealand in Napier. Credit
National
Aquarium of New Zealand
Inky’s escape surprised few in the world of marine biology, where
octopuses
are known for their strength, dexterity and intelligence.

Alix Harvey, an aquarist at the Marine Biological Association in
England,
noted that octopuses, members of a class of marine animals including
squid
and cuttlefish called Cephalopoda, have shown themselves to be adept
at
escaping through spaces as small as a coin, constrained only by their
beaks, the only inflexible part of their bodies.

Ms. Harvey said that octopuses had also been documented opening jars
and
sneaking through tiny holes on boats, and that they could deflect
predators
by spraying an ink that lingers in the water and acts as a decoy. Some
have
been seen hauling coconut shells to build underwater shelters.

“Octopuses are fantastic escape artists,” she said. “They are
programmed to
hunt prey at night and have a natural inclination to move around at
night.”

She continued, “They have a complex brain, have excellent eyesight,
and
research suggests they have an ability to learn and form mental maps.”

Ms. Harvey recalled one octopus at a British aquarium that escaped
nightly
from his tank, slithered to a nearby tank to snack on fish for dinner,
and
went home.

Octopuses’ intelligence, she said, was partly an evolutionary response
to
their habitation in complex environments such as coral reefs, in which
the
animals need to hide from predators and sneak up on their prey.

Inky is not the first octopus to attract the spotlight. In the summer
of
2010, Paul, an octopus in Germany, gained worldwide attention when he
appeared to correctly pick the winning team in all seven of Germany’s
games
at the World Cup in South Africa — a feat that inspired a song. He has
been
immortalized in Oberhausen, Germany, with a six-foot plastic replica
of him
clutching a soccer ball.

Follow Dan Bilefsky on Twitter @DanBilefsky.

A version of this article appears in print on April 14, 20



http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/14/world/asia/inky-octopus-new-zealand-aquarium.html?_r=0

--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: ***@netfront.net ---

[Wendy M. Grossman]

On Fri, 29 Apr 2016 10:41:10 -0400, Garrison Hilliard

Post by Garrison Hilliard
By DAN BILEFSKYAPRIL 13, 2016
Inky the octopus at National Aquarium of New Zealand in Napier. Credit
National Aquarium of New Zealand
It was an audacious nighttime escape.
After busting through an enclosure, the nimble contortionist appears
to
have quietly crossed the floor, slithered through a narrow drain hole
about
six inches in diameter and jumped into the sea. Then he disappeared.
This was no Houdini, but rather a common New Zealand octopus called
Inky,
about the size of a soccer ball.
The breakout at the National Aquarium of New Zealand in Napier, which
has
captured the imagination of New Zealanders and made headlines around
the
world, apparently began when Inky slipped through a small gap at the
top of
his tank.
Octopus tracks suggest he then scampered eight feet across the floor
and
slid down a 164-foot-long drainpipe that dropped him into Hawke’s Bay,
on
the east coast of North Island, according to reports in New Zealand’s
news
media.
The aquarium’s keepers noticed the escape when they came to work and
discovered that Inky was not in his tank. A less independence-minded
octopus, Blotchy, remained behind.
The aquarium’s manager, Rob Yarrall, told Radio New Zealand that
employees
had searched the aquarium’s pipes after discovering Inky’s trail, to
no
avail.
The escape happened several months ago, but it only recently came to
light.
“He managed to make his way to one of the drain holes that go back to
the
ocean, and off he went,” Mr. Yarrall said. “Didn’t even leave us a
message.”
Photo
Photographs with notes showing the path Inky may have taken in
escaping his
tank at the National Aquarium of New Zealand in Napier. Credit
National
Aquarium of New Zealand
Inky’s escape surprised few in the world of marine biology, where
octopuses
are known for their strength, dexterity and intelligence.
Alix Harvey, an aquarist at the Marine Biological Association in
England,
noted that octopuses, members of a class of marine animals including
squid
and cuttlefish called Cephalopoda, have shown themselves to be adept
at
escaping through spaces as small as a coin, constrained only by their
beaks, the only inflexible part of their bodies.
Ms. Harvey said that octopuses had also been documented opening jars
and
sneaking through tiny holes on boats, and that they could deflect
predators
by spraying an ink that lingers in the water and acts as a decoy. Some
have
been seen hauling coconut shells to build underwater shelters.
“Octopuses are fantastic escape artists,” she said. “They are
programmed to
hunt prey at night and have a natural inclination to move around at
night.”
She continued, “They have a complex brain, have excellent eyesight,
and
research suggests they have an ability to learn and form mental maps.”
Ms. Harvey recalled one octopus at a British aquarium that escaped
nightly
from his tank, slithered to a nearby tank to snack on fish for dinner,
and
went home.
Octopuses’ intelligence, she said, was partly an evolutionary response
to
their habitation in complex environments such as coral reefs, in which
the
animals need to hide from predators and sneak up on their prey.
Inky is not the first octopus to attract the spotlight. In the summer
of
2010, Paul, an octopus in Germany, gained worldwide attention when he
appeared to correctly pick the winning team in all seven of Germany’s
games
at the World Cup in South Africa — a feat that inspired a song. He has
been
immortalized in Oberhausen, Germany, with a six-foot plastic replica
of him
clutching a soccer ball.
A version of this article appears in print on April 14, 20
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/14/world/asia/inky-octopus-new-zealand-aquarium.html?_r=0

I have personally seen the opening jars thing - a local aquarium shop
kept an octupus as a pet for a while, and they used to put treats in
jars for it and other puzzles, because otherwise it got *bored*.

wg