Octopus Inky makes ‘great escape’ from New Zealand aquarium

The octopus Inky slipped through a small gap in his enclosure at New Zealand’s National Aquarium and escaped into the ocean.

A rugby ball-sized octopus escaped through a narrow pipe at New Zealand’s National Aquarium and returned to the ocean, reports said.

The octopus Inky slipped through a small gap in his enclosure and escaped into the ocean. (Facebook video screengrab)

Inky, the male octopus, was given to the Napier aquarium two years ago after it was rescued from a crayfish pot. The “great escape artist” made a dash for freedom by slipping through a small gap in his enclosure, sliding across a wet floor and squeezing through a 150mm-diameter (5.9 inches) pipe, Fairfax New Zealand reported Tuesday.

“Octopus are really intelligent animals, very inquisitive, and they also tend to explore whenever they get the chance,” aquarium manager Rob Yarrell told MediaWorks’ Newshub Wednesday.

“Giving him just a little gap was enough for him to get out and we noticed the wet trail across to one of our drains.”

The reports did not state when Inky made his getaway, reportedly the first-ever at the aquarium.

“They are great escape artists,” Yarrell told the New Zealand Herald, saying staff would be closely watching the remaining octopus in the enclosure.

While Inky was the size of a rugby ball he could stretch to extremes and squeeze through tiny spaces, Yarrell said.

“As long as its mouth can fit,” he told Fairfax. “Their bodies are squishy but they have a beak, like a parrot.”