Octopus in New Zealand Aquarium Makes 'Shawshank Redemption' Escape to Ocean

Octopi are incredibly intelligent animals — they’re believed to be the smartest invertebrates — and on top of that intelligence, they are incredibly strong and are also very malleable, meaning that if they want to get somewhere, it’s hard to prevent them from doing so. Inky is not the first octopus to stage an escape. There are stories of octopi sneaking out of their tanks at night, into other nearby tanks to eat the fish, and then back into their home tanks with no one the wiser. Octopi have been known to be able to take the lids off jars, to “walk” across the ocean floor, and to exhibit distinct personalities.

“They are very strong,” octopus expert Jennifer Mather told the Washington Post, “and it is practically impossible to keep an octopus in a tank unless you are very lucky… Octopuses simply take things apart.”

So it’s not too huge of a surprise that Inky escaped. He took a page out of The Shawshank Redemption (or maybe Finding Nemo) and made his way back to the sea. The aquarium has no intention of tracking Inky down, or replacing him in their octopus tank. It appears Inky has made it to whatever the ocean equivalent of Zihuatanejo is, and is simply waiting for his fellow prisoner to make his own way out and join him.

Via: The Washington Post