Saying Goodbye to the Giant Pacific Octopus in Oregon

March 25, 2011
BeachConnection.net


(Oregon Coast) – Three distinctly different ways to have fun are popping up on the Oregon coast this coming week - all quite unlike the other, but certainly very different ways to engage in repose as well. One involves an octopus, another a lot of poetry and prose, and the third is a historical museum coming back to life. (Photo Above: a Pacific octopus - photo courtesy Seaside Aquarium).

If you grew up in Oregon, it's likely one of your more vivid memories was of the octopus near the front entrance of the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport. Nope, it hasn’t been the same octopus all these years, but rather they change every nine months.

On Wednesday, March 30, staff at the Hatfield will let their latest giant Pacific octopus go free, back into the wild.

The Hatfield’s Bill Hanshumaker said Giant Pacific octopuses have a short life span of about just a few years.

The giant pacific octopus dies shortly after reproducing – so this is one heck of a last hurrah.

The crowds will gather at Yaquina Bay's South Jetty at 10:30 a.m. to wave goodbye. Newport, Oregon.

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Visit the link to learn more about Oregon State University's Hatfield Marine Science Center.