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Brilio.net/en - Houdinis got some competition. In the form of an octopus.
The tentacle zoo animal escaped from its home in New Zealand, and his disappearance only left the tracks of his suction cups for zookeepers to piece together what happened.
It is suspected that Inky slipped through a gap left by maintenance workers at the top of the aquarium, leaving behind his tank buddy who didnt feel the need to return to the wide ocean. Guessing by the track marks left behind by his eight tentacles, he then squeezed his football-sized body through a drain and made out for the Pacific Ocean.
He managed to make his way to one of the drain holes that go back to the ocean. And off he went, said aquarium manager Rob Yarrall to radio New Zealand . And he didnt even leave us a message.
Inky was a member of the zoo since 2014, after he was rescued from being caught in a crayfish pot, his body scarred and badly injured.
Kerry Hewitt, the aquariums curator of exhibits, said at the time that Inky was getting used to being at the aquarium but added that staff would have to keep Inky amused or he will get bored. Guess he did just that and decided to challenge himself a little more.
Inky joins an elite group of animals that have escaped, and he is one of the few that actually succeeded. In 2009 a two-spotted octopus took apart a valve at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium in California, and caused a major flood for ten hours. Even more cunning and further proof of the animals intelligence is the age old tale of an octopus escaping from its tank at night in Brighton, England and hopping into its neighbors tank and munching on the lumpfish inside before returning to his home.
This is all just further proof that octopuses (not octopi for all you grammar nerds) are indeed aliens. A recent study proved the complexity of the sea animals genome, with 33,000 protein-coding genes identifies. Thats more than humans have. US researcher Dr. Clifton Ragsdale, from the University of Chicago, said: The octopus appears to be utterly different from all other animals, even other mollusks, with its eight prehensile arms, its large brain and its clever problem-solving abilities.
Fare the well Inky!
(brl/red)
