OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
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Recently, we released our giant Pacific octopus and are awaiting a new one. Contact our Marine Education Volunteer Coordinator, Renee Fowler, if you have an octopus to donate.
The Octocam view is occasionally cloudy (usually due to maintenance on the seawater systems) or dark. We sometimes darken the tank by covering it when the Visitor Center is closed to give the octopus time to rest. If you can't see a clear image, please revisit us in a day or two.
Watch this Visitor Center octopus playing with a toy watering can during his quarantine with our Aquatic Animal Health Program.
Octopuses are short-lived, so we try to keep them for only a few months before returning them to the ocean - usually when they begin to show signs of senescence (aging). Pictured right is an octopus from the Visitor Center resting in the water right after it was returned to the ocean.
Learn more about our octopus guests by visiting our OctoFAQ
You can also watch this recent video of Renee Fowler and our current, and extremely active, resident octopus at feeding time. Renee shares interesting facts about the giant Pacific octopus.
Want to watch more octopus videos? Check out this one of Tara McDowell feeding a giant Pacific octopus in 2016.
We are always looking for live octopus donations from crabbers, fishermen, divers and others who inadvertently catch these curious animals when they climb into their traps or nets in search of food. Please contact us if you have an octopus to donate.
Note: A state-issued shellfish license is required to make an octopus donation. Contact our Marine Education Volunteer Coordinator, Renee Fowler, if you have an octopus to donate.
