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Sneaky Octopus Makes Daring Escape Through Aquarium's Drain Pipe Into Pacific Ocean

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clock-iconPUBLISHEDApril 12, 2016

Sneaky Octopus Makes Daring Escape Through Aquarium's Drain Pipe Into Pacific Ocean

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Inky the octopus left without even saying goodbye. National Aquarium of New Zealand

Everyone loves a good prison break story. "Escape from Alcatraz." "The Shawshank Redemption." "The Great Escape." They imbue within us a sense of hope, daring, and adventure.

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Now, a new tale of derring-do in New Zealand of a real-life prison escape may be added to this pantheon of greats: An octopus has outwitted its human captors and is now on the run in the Pacific Ocean. Considering the size of said ocean, it’s unlikely he’ll ever be recaptured.

As reported by BBC News, the National Aquarium in the coastal settlement of Napier was once home to Inky the octopus, but no more. This particularly crafty, aquatic fellow managed to squeeze through a small gap in his enclosure left behind after some routine maintenance work, before sliding across the floor looking for an escape route.

“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, as reported by Radio New Zealand. “He didn't even leave us a message.” Staff were shocked to arrive at the scene to find no Inky and a trail of octopus tracks left behind by the former captive.

The staff should have realized long ago not to underestimate the power of these highly intelligent cephalopods; after all, they can escape from anything – even the inside a locked jar.

Rather sadly, Inky left behind his tank-mate, another octopus, which the staff say they’ll be monitoring extremely closely from now on.
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ORIGINALLY PUBLISHEDApril 12, 2016

Written by Robin Andrews

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