World Octopus Day

Threats to octopuses

While octopuses are not considered endangered, they face a number of threats in the wild. 

Habitat loss and pollution

Octopuses are sensitive to water quality. Their reproduction and immune systems are impacted when pollution from industrial and agricultural activities enters their habitats.

Overfishing

Octopus are targeted by fishers across the world as a source of meat and for the aquarium trade. This has led to unsustainable fishing practices and the use of destructive fishing gear.

Octopus farming

In Gran Canaria in Spain, there are plans to launch the planet’s first high-density octopus farm. Here, around one million octopuses could be reared for food, with animal advocates around the world gravely concerned for octopus welfare.

Octopus FAQS

What do octopuses eat?

Octopuses mainly eat crabs, molluscs, small fish, snails, and shrimp.

How do octopuses eat?

Octopuses tend to hunt at night. They pounce, use their beaks to inject poison, and wrap their prey in the webbing between their arms before pulling it into their mouths.

Are octopuses intelligent?

Octopuses are highly intelligent and sentient beings with thoughts, feelings, and individual personalities.

Can an octopus breathe air?

An octopus doesn’t have lungs so it can’t breathe on land. Instead, like fish, it uses gills to extract oxygen from seawater.

How many hearts does an octopus have?

An octopus has three hearts. Two of these hearts pump blood through the gills. A central heart moves oxygen-rich blood around the rest of the body.

Where do octopuses live?

Octopuses live in every ocean, in both deep and shallow waters. However, the biggest populations of octopuses are found in warm, tropical seas.

Which octopuses are venomous?

All octopus species carry venom but their venom varies in toxicity. The blue-ringed octopus has enough venom to kill a human. Its poison weakens and paralyses muscles, which leads to respiratory failure and death. Luckily, bites from blue-ringed octopuses are very rare.

What type of animal is an octopus?

An octopus is an eight-armed cephalopod mollusc. Molluscs are soft-bodied invertebrates and cephalopods are a group of highly advanced molluscs that includes octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish.