A Tiny Baby Atlantic White-Spotted Octopus Enjoys a Little Affection From a Caring Human

A tiny baby Atlantic white-spotted octopus, who was welcomed to his new home at Octolab (previously) and given the name Joey, showed his very affectionate side to the people working there. One human even reached in to stroked the velvety skin of his little mantle and Joey responded in a manner reminiscent of a cat.

When this little Atlantic White-Spotted Octopus arrived at Octolab, everyone immediately fell in love with him. He was the cutest little octopus we ever laid eyes on. We prepared a little habitat for him and gave him a couple of days to get acclimated. When he got used to his surroundings, he was immediately drawn to us as much as we were to him.

In addition to enjoying a bit of snuggle time, Joey investigated his new surroundings, tested out his camouflage techniques and happily swam around in an enclosure built just for him.

The Atlantic White- Spotted Octopus can often be seen hiding among seagrass and it is therefore also known as the Grass Octopus. Bearing this fact in mind, we decorated his habitat with a lot of plants and green pebbles to make Joey feel at home.

Octolab is a research facility that seeks to learn more about these incredible creatures by observing their behavior in a variety of situations. Each and every cephalopod in their care has been rescued from a fisherman’s catches and saved from an otherwise horrific fate.

At no point do we place any of our animals in harm’s way. Our priority is, always has been, and will always be the well-being and health of our octopuses. …All of the eight-armed friends who are part of the Octolab project were rescued from the catch of fishermen. Their fate would have been gruesome otherwise. Quite literally they would have been smashed on the rocks while still alive to “tenderize” them and then hung to dry in the sun before being sold to local seafood restaurants and markets.