Oregon Sea Grant

The Use of a Species-Specific Health and Welfare Assessment Tool for the Giant Pacific Octopus

Abstract: This study evaluates an assessment tool that tracks the health and welfare of giant Pacific octopuses. The study, the first of its kind, assessed forty giant Pacific octopuses at six aquariums. It used the tool to track their appearance, behavior, eating habits, respiration and growth, and husbandry practices over an extended period. This is also the first study to document a timeline of behavioral changes associated with giant Pacific octopuses’ old age and death.