The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness

This chapter takes place in the summer of 2012. Octavia has laid eggs and is in the process of caring for them, though they won’t hatch because a male has not fertilized them. The mating and egg-hatching process represents the end of life for adult octopuses: Males die soon after mating, and females die after their eggs hatch. Female giant Pacific octopuses lay up to 100,000 eggs in the wild, and then protect and watch over them to the exclusion of all else—including eating. They stay with their eggs, help them hatch as paralarvae (part of plankton), and then die from starvation. Octavia turns white and is missing an arm (though octopuses can regenerate perfectly good new arms) as she begins her final stage of life. Montgomery writes, “During the summer of Octavia’s eggs, I find transformation everywhere I look” (103).

Kali provides some unexpected moments during this time. Once, while Montgomery, Anna, and Wilson were interacting with her, she suddenly drenches Anna with water from her funnel and then bites Anna’s thumb with her beak. Anna, Wilson, and the first aid staff attend to Anna, trying to determine whether Kali used her venom as well, but it doesn’t appear to be a serious bite. An octopus’s venom is not usually strong enough to harm humans, but it can sometimes cause an allergic reaction. Montgomery surmises that the tremor Anna sometimes exhibits may have frightened Kali, or perhaps the octopus could taste the new medication Anna was taking and was turned off by it.

Another time, Kali drenches Wilson with her funnel. They clearly have a strong bond, so it’s not that she dislikes him. He and Montgomery first think she’s just being playful and impish, but Montgomery gets another idea. When they interact with her, they normally touch and caress her a while before feeding her; perhaps she wanted food first and this was her way of trying to initiating that, getting the attention of the person who usually feeds her.

One August evening, Montgomery is at the aquarium for an event to honor its teenage volunteers. She observes Octavia and becomes alarmed at the condition she’s in. The octopus looks bloated and motionless, turned in toward herself. Wilson is there with his granddaughter, one of the volunteers, and he joins Montgomery to stand vigil by the tank. After some time, Octavia seems to snap out of it and move around more, going over to cover her eggs, and then falls asleep.

By the end of August, Octavia is still doing okay, but Kali is acting differently. Wilson thinks she’s partly bored and partly overstimulated by human contact. She has been popular and, because of her friendly temperament, many visitors have wanted to interact with her. However, she had no place to hide when she’s not in the mood. She was purchased by the aquarium when it looked as if Octavia was on her way out, but the older octopus has lived several months since then. They couldn’t be placed in the same tank or they would fight, so even as Kali has grown, she has remained in the small 55-gallon tank used when she first arrived. The entire aquarium, however, is about to be entirely renovated, including the enormous Giant Ocean Tank central to the space, so the staff begins moving all the animals around, both on- and offsite. It will be a stressful transition for everyone.