North Pacific Giant Octopus Whisperer at Boston's New England Aquarium

Summary: A North Pacific giant octopus whisperer and his two amiable, astute namesake animals amuse audiences at the New England Aquarium in Boston, Massachusetts.

Freya (Old Norse Freyja, “Lady”), a three-year-old North Pacific giant octopus, rests one of her eight arms on octopus whisperer Wilson Menashi's left arm at Boston's New England Aquarium: New England Aquarium @NewEnglandAquarium, via Facebook Jan. 22, 2019

The New England Aquarium in Boston, Massachusetts, allows a non-aggressive acquaintance by a North Pacific giant octopus whisperer of two adaptable, amiable, astute animals that attract research attention about advanced learning curves.

Wilson Menashi, 84-year-old retired chemical engineer with 7,800 volunteer hours, brings companionship, puzzles and seafood because "I cannot explain it, but I can connect with them." Ten to 15 sucker contusions per arm commemorate communion with 39.68-pound (18-kilogram), three-year-old Freya and slightly smaller, somewhat younger next-door tank occupant Professor Ludwig Von Drake. The third arm tip, suckerless in males for depositing sperm packets in female cavities, to the right of two color-blind, sharp-sighted eyes distinguishes the cartoon namesake.

The North Pacific giant octopus whisperer explains that, from 25-year experiences, "What I find totally surprising is how they could tell different people and react differently."

Physically and sexually mature North Pacific giant octopus females and males finish their otherwise solitary three- to six-year life cycles in underwater breeding and birthing dens.

North Pacific giant octopus mothers-to-be gather 18,000 to 100,000 eggs, gestated 30 days, into hundreds of 250-egg strands at 40- to 170-foot (12.19- to 51.82-meter) depths. Their eight arms head nutrient-rich, oxygenated waters over beaded strands that hang from breeding and birthing den roofs until they hatch within six to 12 months. Their itineraries include aerating rice grain-sized yellow eggs and assuring maximum den temperatures below 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15.55 degrees Celsius), not self-feeding or surviving hatchling emergences.

The orphaned red-brown-white 0.25-inch- (6.35-millimeter-) long, 0.0008-ounce (22-milligram) North Pacific giant octopus hatchlings journey after surface plankton and juggle 14 suckers on each of eight arms.

The Octopoda (from Greek οκτώ, októ, "eight" and ποδός, podós, "foot") order planktonic member keeps to surface waters until knowing 0.17-ounce (5-gram) weights within three months.

Halibut, lingcod, sea lions, sea otters, seabirds and seals limit the Cephalopoda (from Greek κεφαλή, kephalé, "head" and ποδός, podós, "foot") class member's three-month planktonic stage. Four-month-old to three-year-old juveniles and three-plus-year-old adults manage nightly diets of abalone, clams, cockle, crabs, fish, lobster, scallops, shrimp, small seabirds and shark, snails and squid.The octopus, named Enteroctopus dofleini (from Greek έντερο, éntero, "intestine"; οκτώ, októ, "eight"; πούς, poús, "foot") for Franz Doflein (April 5, 1873-Aug. 2, 1924), navigate self-defensively.

North Pacific giant octopus, observed in 1910 by Gerhard Wülker (Nov. 5, 1885-1930), self-defensively offer camouflaged colors and textures, parrot-like beaks, sucker-covered arms and toxic ink.

Ten- to 16-foot- (3.05- to 4.88-meter-) long, 22- to 110-pound (9.97- to 49.89-kilogram) North Pacific giant octopus possess 12- to 23-foot- (3.66- to 7.01-meter-) long arms.

Thirty-five pounds (15.88 kilograms) qualify as maximum weight-holding capacity of each sucker, with maximum 2.52-inch (6.4-centimeter) diameters, of the total 2,140 male and 2,240 female suckers. Sucker-covered arms reach rare octopus whisperers, repel predators, retrieve prey and rummage gravelly, muddy, reefy, rocky, sandy sea floors at intertidal to maximum 4,921.26-foot (1,500-meter) depths. Siphons spewing oxygenated streams from gills and mantles surge North Pacific giant octopus to 25-mile (40-kilometer) hourly speeds off Pacific rim coastlines from Mexico through Japan.

A North Pacific giant octopus whisperer treats and tricks timeless truths about Disney and Norse mythology namesakes less traumatically than commercial fishing vehicles and research trawlers.

Freya (Old Norse Freyja, “Lady”), a North Pacific giant octopus, has resided in the Northern Waters Gallery, Level 3, of the New England Aquarium's Olympic Coast Exhibit since 2017: New England Aquarium @NewEnglandAquarium, via Facebook Dec. 9, 2018

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Freya (Old Norse Freyja, “Lady”), a three-year-old North Pacific giant octopus, rests one of her eight arms on octopus whisperer Wilson Menashi's left arm at Boston's New England Aquarium: New England Aquarium @NewEnglandAquarium, via Facebook Jan. 22, 2019, @ https://www.facebook.com/NewEnglandAquarium/posts/10156728491990353

Freya (Old Norse Freyja, “Lady”), a North Pacific giant octopus, has resided in the Northern Waters Gallery, Level 3, of the New England Aquarium's Olympic Coast Exhibit since 2017: New England Aquarium @NewEnglandAquarium, via Facebook Dec. 9, 2018, @ https://www.facebook.com/NewEnglandAquarium/photos/a.174717500352/10156646044375353

For further information:

Conrath, Christina L.; and M. Elizabeth Conners. 2014. "Aspects of the Reproductive Biology of the North Pacific Giant Octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini) in the Gulf of Alaska." Fishery Bulletin 112: 253-260. doi:10.7755/FB.112.4.2
Available @ https://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/spo/FishBull/1124/conrath.pdf

Hughes, Lisa. 4 October 2018. "84-Year-Old 'Octopus Whisperer' Among Aquarium Volunteers To Be Honored." CBS Boston > Local.
Available @ https://boston.cbslocal.com/2018/10/04/octopus-whisperer-volunteer-new-england-aquarium/

New England Aquarium @NewEnglandAquarium. 4 November 2017. "There's a beautiful new cephalopod exploring the Olympic Coast exhibit. And she's already living up to her name. Meet Freya: http://bit.ly/NewOctopus." Facebook.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/NewEnglandAquarium/photos/a.174717500352/10155734720005353/

New England Aquarium @NewEnglandAquarium. 9 December 2018. "Freya the giant Pacific octopus strutting her stuff." Facebook.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/NewEnglandAquarium/photos/a.174717500352/10156646044375353

New England Aquarium @NewEnglandAquarium. 18 November 2017. "Why, hello, Freya! The newest giant Pacific octopus came out to play the other day. Bring the family to visit this many-armed beauty in our Olympic Coast exhibit." Facebook.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/NewEnglandAquarium/photos/a.174717500352/10155767542355353/

New England Aquarium @NewEnglandAquarium. 22 January 2019. "Meet Wilson Menashi, our resident octopus whisperer and longtime volunteer." Facebook.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/NewEnglandAquarium/posts/10156728491990353

Ngowi, Rodrigue. 22 January 2019. "Armed with Affection, Octogenarian Is An Octopus Whisperer.'" Associated Press News.
Available @ https://apnews.com/11d27b12504c48b396267b1483d7060e

Vecchione, Michael. "Cephalopoda (Nautilids, Octopods, Cuttlefishes, Squids, and Relatives)." In: Michael Hutchins, Sean F. Craig, Dennis A. Thoney and Neil Schlager, editors. Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. Second edition. Volume 2, Protostomes: 475-480. Farmington Hills MI: Gale Group, 2003.