Mississippi Aquarium announces Giant Pacific Octopus passes away

The Mississippi Aquarium announced today their Giant Pacific Octopus Bubblewrap has passed away after showing signs of senescence, a natural process at the end of an octopus’ life cycle.

The staff saying Bubblewrap loved meeting new people, playing with his Mr. Potato Head and his watering can, and being a great ambassador for his species.

He was popular with all guests to the Mississippi Aquarium.

The Mississippi Aquarium provided information on the lifecycle of a Giant Pacific Octopus:

• A Giant Pacific Octopus can live from 3 – 5 years, making it one of the longest-lived octopus species.
• An octopus hatches from an egg approximately the size of a grain of rice. A single octopus can produce up to 100,000 eggs.
• Around 3 months of age, a Giant Pacific Octopus weights around five grams (0.011 pounds).
• A Giant Pacific Octopus has indeterminate growth, which means they can keep growing, and can reach weights of up to 50 pounds or more. The largest on record weighed 600 pounds and spanned 30 feet!
• The senescence stage of life starts for females after they lay eggs, but for males it’s a tad more ambiguous since there’s no developmental marker but behaviorally, they tend to enter a dementia-like state.
• Generally, when an octopus enters senescence, they will likely have a decrease in activity level, appetite, and will display discoloration/paleness until they pass.