Octopuses are one of the most intelligent marine animals. Their brains are large relative to their size. They also have much larger nervous systems and greater cognitive complexity than most invertebrates. The majority of their neurons are found in their arms, which can independently taste and touch and control basic motions without input from the brain.
Wild versus human care
In the wild, octopuses, like most marine animals, spend much of their energy and time searching for food and mates while avoiding predation. Other than hunting, they have also been observed stacking rocks to protect the entrances to their dens, and hiding themselves inside coconut shell halves, a testament of their intelligence.
However under human care, food and mates are often obtainable without much effort, and predation pressure are nearly non-existent. This may leave the animals without activities that normally take up their time.
The importance of enrichment
By introducing environmental enrichment (adding foreign objects like toys, puzzles and food), we can maintain healthy activity levels for the octopus, alleviate space restrictions, and encourage normal behaviours exhibited in the wild.
Such enrichment activities benefit the physical and mental health of the animal by providing it with something new to “think about” as they explore through play.
Enrichment for our Giant Pacific Octopus
Here at S.E.A. Aquarium, our aquarists offer enrichment activities for our Giant Pacific Octopus, such as giving it a jar containing a toy or food, and letting it to figure out how to retrieve the items inside.
Like humans, the octopus has short- and long-term memory, which makes them pretty good at solving puzzles and mazes. The ultimate goal of these activities is to engage the octopus in exploratory activities, encouraging it to do so even after the enrichment session has ended.
Witness our Octopus Enrichment at the Giant Pacific Octopus habitat from 1 Dec 2017 – 1 Jan 2018, at 2.30pm daily. Click here to find out about other exciting Merry Fishmas activities.