Fans bid farewell to beloved California octopus Ghost as she cares for eggs in final stage of life

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A dying octopus in a Southern California aquarium is receiving an outflowing of love and well wishes as she spends her final days pouring her last energy into caring for her eggs — even though they will never hatch.

Many on social media have reminisced about seeing the giant Pacific octopus named Ghost when they had visited the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. Some shared that they had a tattoo of Ghost or would wear a sweater emblazoned with the beloved cephalopod in her memory.

“She is a wonderful octopus and has made an eight-armed impression on all of our hearts,” the aquarium said on Instagram.

Ghost laid eggs earlier this week and entered the last phase of her life cycle, known as senescence. During this period, the octopus will neglect her own basic needs like eating, instead focusing on protecting her eggs and aerating them to prevent bacteria or other harmful agents from growing on them.

Ghost’s eggs are unfertilized and will never hatch, however. In the wild, giant Pacific octopuses spend their whole lives alone and only come together for a brief instance to reproduce.

“You really can’t combine males and females for any period of time because they don’t naturally cohabitate,” said the aquarium’s vice president of animal care, Nate Jaros. “They’re at high risk or aggression or even potentially death.”

Ghost is originally from the waters of British Columbia, Canada, and arrived at the aquarium in May 2024 from a scientific collector. She was only 3 pounds (1.4 kilograms) then but now weighs more than 50 pounds (22.7 kilograms).

The average giant Pacific octopus lives for three to five years. Ghost is estimated to be between two and four years old, Jaros said.

Ghost was a “super active and very physical octopus” who enjoyed spending time with humans, Jaros said.

She was trained to voluntarily crawl into a basket so staff would weigh her and monitor her diet. Sometimes, she would push aside food her caregiver was offering just to interact with them more, Jaros said.

“Octopus in particular are incredibly special because of how charismatic and intelligent they seem to be, and we really form tight bonds with these animals,” Jaros said.

Her caregivers engage her in enrichment activities multiple times a day, putting food inside of toys and puzzles with moving parts to simulate what a octopus would do to hunt live crabs and clams in the wild.

One time, staff spent hours building a large acrylic maze for Ghost to explore.

“She mastered it almost instantly,” Jaros said.

While Ghost receives special attention in a private tank during her last days, the aquarium has already received a new octopus that will carry on her mission of educating the public. Staff will name the 2-pound (900 gram) octopus after spending some time assessing its personality, but it is already “super curious” and “seems to be a very outgoing animal,” Jaros said.

Marine biology student Jay McMahon, of Los Angeles, said he was glad he was able to visit the aquarium in the last few weeks and see Ghost one more time. He said he was inspired to pursue his studies after his parents brought him to the aquarium when he was 4.

“When you make a connection with an animal like that and you know they don’t live for that long, every moment means a lot,” he said. “I just hope she encourages people to learn more about the octopus and how important they are.”