The female octopus, sp. Octopus briareus, with whom I have been conducting basic training, has recently laid eggs; marking the final stage of a female octopuses rather short life cycle. I was initially tuned into the fact that she may be approaching the end when she stopped responding to her target-trained feeding times. In the several months I have cared for her, she was generally fed 1 chunk of frozen/thawed shrimp, scallops or marine fish on a nightly basis after responding to the presence of her target stick. Almost without exception, she would eagerly come out of hiding the moment I opened the lid of her tank and put in the target stick. Then she would jet over and grab the target, which would be exchanged for her food using stainless steel tongs; though retrieving the target from her was seldom easy – she has quite a grip! Continue reading