Athena was caught right off the PTMSC dock back in October 2009. It was great having her in our aquarium; everyone instantly fell in love with her. Our staff and volunteers continually talked to her and played with her. She seemed to adjust well and enjoyed eating everything in sight, even some of her fish friends that she shared a tank with! Recently she started to get a bit restless, Athena was beginning to get a little too friendly with some of our volunteers as they tried to clean her tank. She would reach her tentacles out of the tank trying to explore what was going on. We tried to give her toys and jars with food in it to keep her entertained, but in the end we decided it best to release her back into the wild where she could eat all day long. Athena was a great addition to our home on the pier and she will be greatly missed, but we know she is enjoying her time out in the open waters of Puget Sound. Good luck Athena!
Enjoy the video below of Athena our Giant Pacific Octopus as we released her back into the wild.
Valerie Lindborg
Lab Coordinator
Love it! Great music choice, by the way. Very Free Willy-esque.
ReplyDeleteI miss you guys and really enjoyed my time with Athena as a volunteer. Best octopus I have ever helped take care of.
ReplyDeleteHow cool was that! You guys made me tear-up a little. You go girl! (Athena I mean.)
ReplyDeleteKaren De
Awesome!!! Thank you so much for sharing this.
ReplyDelete