Seattle Aquarium cancels octopus mating event, fears cannibalism
- Titanic II scheduled to set sail in 2018
- Dairy Queen offering Blizzard treat for singles on Valentine's Day
- Woman's body found in Walmart parking lot, had been there for three months
- 9-year-old at the wheel because couple was too drunk, police say
- Watch: Teacher loses it when first-grader gets her math wrong
To celebrate Valentine's Day, officials at the Seattle Aquarium wanted to allow visitors to watch a live mating between two octopuses.
The annual octopus mating event is open to the public and was set to take place at noon on Sunday.
But aquarium workers couldn't find an appropriate mate for Kong, a 70-pound octopus. They canceled the "blind date" event because they feared that he would eat any female octopus with whom they could potentially pair him. All the female octopuses whom they had considered weighed 30 to 40 pounds -- half Kong's weight.
Instead, divers swam with the giant "bachelor" octopus while visitors watched.
We’ve made some changes to our #OctopusWeek event! At noon on February 14, instead of our octopus blind date event,...
Posted by Seattle Aquarium on Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Join us at noon today to see divers swim with Kong, our male giant Pacific #octopus, in the Window on Washington Waters...
Posted by Seattle Aquarium on Sunday, February 14, 2016
A Valentine's Day #OctoFact—you might want to kiss a red octopus but we don’t advise it: their venom can cause very painful local effects. #OctopusWeek
Posted by Seattle Aquarium on Sunday, February 14, 2016
With arm spans reaching up to 20 feet across, giant Pacific octopuses can more than wrap their arms around you—and give you triple the love with their three hearts. #ValentinesDay #OctopusWeek
Posted by Seattle Aquarium on Sunday, February 14, 2016
