Octopus underwater with text world octopus day

World Octopus Day

Animal Awareness Days

Celebrate World Octopus Day with us! Learn about these beautiful, intelligent marine creatures — and find out what you can do to help them.

About World Octopus Day

Not heard of the World Octopus Day celebration before? Here’s everything you need to know in a series of quick-fire questions.

  • What is World Octopus Day?: World Octopus Day is a celebration of one of the most distinctive marine creatures on the planet — the octopus. To find out more about this eight-armed animal, jump to our facts sections below.
  • When is World Octopus Day?: World Octopus Day is celebrated on the 8th of October every year. It was first observed in 2014 but has been an annual event ever since.
  • Why do we celebrate World Octopus Day?: The World Octopus Day celebration draws attention to the beauty, intelligence, and sentience of these wonderful marine creatures. But it’s also a chance to highlight the threats octopuses face — including cruel octopus farming and marine pollution — along with octopus conservation initiatives.

7 facts about octopuses

  1. Around 300 species of octopus and octopuses can be found in every ocean on Earth.
  2. The biggest octopus in the world is the giant Pacific octopus, which can grow to 5.4 metres in length, with an arm span of almost 9 metres.
  3. Octopuses can change the colour of their skin in a fraction of a second. They do this to camouflage and hide from predators, to trick their prey, and to communicate with one another.  
  4. Octopuses and squid are both cephalopods. But while octopuses have eight arms, squid have eight arms and two tentacles.
  5. Factory-farmed octopuses are kept in unnatural, cramped confinement. They are sometimes killed by submersion in freezing water, which has been known to cause a cruel, slow, and painful death. Protecting octopuses from conditions like these is one of our missions, here at World Animal Protection.
  6. Octopuses don’t make good pets. They require huge tanks, exceptional water quality, and live prey — and because octopuses are so intelligent, they easily become bored and distressed in captivity.
  7. Octopuses are highly intelligent and sentient. They can solve puzzles, use tools, learn from experience, and exhibit signs of stress and fear.

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.

Two elephants embrace each other playfully with their trunks

You can make a difference for vulnerable animals

Donate now

When you make a donation, you’ll join a passionate group of supporters who are determined to change the world for animals. We're fighting animal cruelty wherever we find it — are you with us?

Click to donate

How to celebrate World Octopus Day

Saving octopuses from the threats they face is a great way to celebrate World Octopus Day. Here are some of the things you can do:

  1. Support the octopus act. Help us ban octopus farming in the US forever.
  2. Help protect our oceans — and commit to octopus habitat preservation — by supporting our Global Ghost Gear Initiative.
  3. Make plant-based foods part of your diet. Switch factory-farmed seafood and meat for sustainable options that don’t impact animal welfare.
  4. Join our campaigns to push organisations and governments to safeguard animals and the habitats they rely on.
  5. Sign up to our newsletter to find out about new ways you can help.

Many animals need your help. Find out about other animal awareness days.

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. 

Sign Up Now

By submitting this form, I agree to receive further communications from World Animal Protection and understand I can opt out at any time. For information on how we use your details, and how we keep your details safe, please read our privacy policy.

Related content

Whale Heritage Areas

Heritage Sites

World Animal Protection in partnership with World Cetacean Alliance recognise outstanding destinations for responsible wild whale and dolphin watching

SeaWorld exposed by the Blackfish documentary

Blog

Uncover Blackfish's impact on orca captivity, animal welfare concerns, boycotting and SeaWorld's response

World Animal Protection

Meat reduction

Food systems

Whether you choose to go vegan, vegetarian or flexitarian, consuming a few animal products can have a big impact on your health, the planet and animal welfare.

Climate news