I went by the Aquarium today for work (I get to go places for work! Stay tuned! More field trips being planned…) and got to see photos an incident that had happened just this morning. Mouse, the female octopus, grabbed onto the feeding stick, didn’t want to let go, and when the volunteer tried to remove her, well, Mouse latched onto her arm instead. Both arms in fact. So the photos were of the volunteer, and the lines of red sucker marks on their arms. Octopus hickies! (Obviously Mouse eventually let go and returned to the water.)

On Sunday, I was giving the octo talk during the afternoon feeding and at that time Mouse also latched onto the stick, but only for a little bit. I’ve been the one doing feeding on other occasions and had other octos grab the stick for a while, and had to coax it back. It’s interesting to think that it could just as easily be me with red polka dot arms. It’s so easy to wonder what the suckers feel like, and to put your hand out…