Smart Octopus Breaks Out Of His Tank And Goes Back Home
One octopus in New Zealand took a stand against captivity in the best way possible - by disappearing into the night without so much as a goodbye note.
Staff at the National Aquarium of New Zealand found Inky missing from his tank one morning this week. They speculate that the octopus made a break for it in the middle of the night by climbing out of his tank (the lid had been left slightly open by mistake), sliding across the floor and then making his way down a drainpipe that leads directly to the ocean, the Guardian reports.
"When we came in the next morning and his tank was empty, I was really surprised," Rob Yarrell, a manager at the aquarium, told the Guardian. "The staff and I have been pretty sad. But then, this is Inky, and he's always been a bit of a surprise octopus." He also described Inky as a very intelligent animal.
"Octopuses are famous escape artists," Yarrell told the Guardian. "But Inky really tested the waters here. I don't think he was unhappy with us, or lonely, as octopus are solitary creatures. But he is such a curious boy. He would want to know what's happening on the outside. That's just his personality."
Inky first came to the aquarium in 2014, after a fisherman and aquarium volunteer pulled him out of a cray pot. But it seems Inky was more than ready to make the trip back home and took the chance once the perfect opportunity presented itself.
We salute you little guy.