This short video was taken on 09 June, 2012 at Monterey Bay Aquarium, California, USA
Life history: The Giant Pacific Octopus is a short-lived animal, with life spans of 3-5 years. When sexually mature, females may lay 20,000 – 100,000 eggs over a period of several days. Eggs are intensively cared for by the females until they hatch after an incubation period of 150 days to seven or more months, depending on the temperature. Newly hatched young have the size of a rice grain. Females do not feed while tending eggs and die when the eggs hatch or shortly thereafter. The mature male of giant octopus deposits a long spermatophore of more than 1 meter which is a characteristic of the octopuses in this genus.
The newly hatched young of the giant octopus swim toward the surface and spend 4-12 weeks drifting in the plankton until their mantle length is >14 mm whereas the young then settle to the bottom while their average weight is still under 5 grams.
Conservation Status: The Giant Pacific Octopus is not currently under the protection of CITES or evaluated in the IUCN Red List
References: Giant Octopus: Fact Sheet; Aquaria poster; Marinebio; Wikipedia
