Zoe got to bring home the much anticipated Mystery Bag from school yesterday. The mystery bag is a bag that the kids get to put a show and tell item in and have the class guess what it is. This is a huge huge huge deal for our Zoe. Last time she got the mystery bag was a Friday so she had all weekend to pick and discard which favorite toy or item she was going to bring. It was agonizing to watch. She would select something, only to change her mind 32,987,437,548,594 times by the end of a day. Ten minutes before we had to be out the door she finally selected a book that plays songs of song birds.
This time, she only had one night to decide. She started out with a rock, moved to a hair tie, but by morning I saw her stuffing her giant stuffed octopus, Ollie, in the bag.
Turns out it was a rather fitting choice. One of Zoe's favorite places is the Marine Life Center, and the last few times we have been there she met, fed, and fell in love with Omar, the Octopus. Looks like he is off to a new home.
She's going to be so sad.
Omar the octopus ships out
Chance for romance lies in Seattle
Chance for romance lies in Seattle
Omar the octopus is headed for the big time, with some gentle encouragement from one of his caretakers at the Marine Life Center in Bellingham.
“Sorry, Omar, it’s time to go,” said center director Noel Larson as she reached her arms into his tank Wednesday and coaxed him into the bright orange basket before him.
Watching them was Roland Anderson, biologist for the Seattle Aquarium, who would drive Omar to his new home.
For a few seconds Wednesday, the giant Pacific octopus didn’t budge from his spot on the bottom of the tank. Then one orange-red tentacle touched the basket. Slowly, he swam in and was lifted out of the tank.
He was weighed, carried to a waiting van, put in a cooler filled with sea water and driven to his new home down south.
The octopus, which weighs 30 pounds and is 5 feet long when two tentacles are stretched out, is in bigger digs — a 3,000-gallon tank — at the Seattle Aquarium, where he is on display today.
On Valentine’s Day, he’ll have a chance to mate with another giant Pacific octopus.
“That will give him an opportunity to pass on his genes,” Larson said.
It was a quick send-off for Omar, the featured attraction at the Marine Life Center since the center bought him from a Canadian collector who captures the creatures for aquariums.
Larson believed that Omar was the 12th giant Pacific octopus at the center, which often gets them when they’re unexpectedly caught by commercial fishermen. Those caught in local waters are rehabilitated six to eight months at the center, then released into the wild.
Omar can’t be released to the wild, partly because he was caught off the coast of British Columbia by a collector.
“This octopus was definitely destined to be in an aquarium and wasn’t going to be released,” Larson said.
The center paid $300 for the octopus, which Larson said was basically just enough to cover the costs the collector incurred, including permits, for capturing the creature.
Larson said he gave the octopus to the center so the public could learn about it.
The center sold Omar to the Seattle Aquarium for $500.
Omar was a standout in several ways, according to Larson.
He was male. “Having a male octopus is a pretty special deal. They’re harder to come by than females,” she explained.
As a male, his third right tentacle is free of suckers. That’s the arm he’ll use for mating.
He had only seven tentacles when he came to them. It’s believed that a lingcod, which is the octopus’ natural predator, attacked him while he was out in the wild.
“It bit off one of the tentacles. He has been regrowing that while he’s been here. Having him in a protective place does allow him to have less stress while he’s trying to re-grow that arm,” she said.
And though Larson didn’t want to humanize the octopus, she did describe him as clever, curious and shy.
“He’s a very graceful animal. He can change color to express emotion, in a way,” she said, adding that the color change also allows him to blend into his background.
On Wednesday, Omar was a dark brown-red by the time he was put into the cooler. It’s the color he turns when he’s trying to blend in with rocks or when he’s trying to hide, Larson explained.
Then the van door was closed.
“I’ll be down soon,” Larson said, just before Omar was driven away.
“Sorry, Omar, it’s time to go,” said center director Noel Larson as she reached her arms into his tank Wednesday and coaxed him into the bright orange basket before him.
Watching them was Roland Anderson, biologist for the Seattle Aquarium, who would drive Omar to his new home.
For a few seconds Wednesday, the giant Pacific octopus didn’t budge from his spot on the bottom of the tank. Then one orange-red tentacle touched the basket. Slowly, he swam in and was lifted out of the tank.
He was weighed, carried to a waiting van, put in a cooler filled with sea water and driven to his new home down south.
The octopus, which weighs 30 pounds and is 5 feet long when two tentacles are stretched out, is in bigger digs — a 3,000-gallon tank — at the Seattle Aquarium, where he is on display today.
On Valentine’s Day, he’ll have a chance to mate with another giant Pacific octopus.
“That will give him an opportunity to pass on his genes,” Larson said.
It was a quick send-off for Omar, the featured attraction at the Marine Life Center since the center bought him from a Canadian collector who captures the creatures for aquariums.
Larson believed that Omar was the 12th giant Pacific octopus at the center, which often gets them when they’re unexpectedly caught by commercial fishermen. Those caught in local waters are rehabilitated six to eight months at the center, then released into the wild.
Omar can’t be released to the wild, partly because he was caught off the coast of British Columbia by a collector.
“This octopus was definitely destined to be in an aquarium and wasn’t going to be released,” Larson said.
The center paid $300 for the octopus, which Larson said was basically just enough to cover the costs the collector incurred, including permits, for capturing the creature.
Larson said he gave the octopus to the center so the public could learn about it.
The center sold Omar to the Seattle Aquarium for $500.
Omar was a standout in several ways, according to Larson.
He was male. “Having a male octopus is a pretty special deal. They’re harder to come by than females,” she explained.
As a male, his third right tentacle is free of suckers. That’s the arm he’ll use for mating.
He had only seven tentacles when he came to them. It’s believed that a lingcod, which is the octopus’ natural predator, attacked him while he was out in the wild.
“It bit off one of the tentacles. He has been regrowing that while he’s been here. Having him in a protective place does allow him to have less stress while he’s trying to re-grow that arm,” she said.
And though Larson didn’t want to humanize the octopus, she did describe him as clever, curious and shy.
“He’s a very graceful animal. He can change color to express emotion, in a way,” she said, adding that the color change also allows him to blend into his background.
On Wednesday, Omar was a dark brown-red by the time he was put into the cooler. It’s the color he turns when he’s trying to blend in with rocks or when he’s trying to hide, Larson explained.
Then the van door was closed.
“I’ll be down soon,” Larson said, just before Omar was driven away.
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