Terrance the Octopus was a pet California two-spot octopus (''Octopus bimaculoides'', nickname: ''bimac''), who became popular following the unusual

hatching Hatching () is an artistic technique used to create tonal or shading effects by drawing (or painting or scribing) closely spaced parallel lines. When lines are placed at an angle to one another, it is called cross-hatching. Hatching is als ...

of 50 baby octopuses in

captivity Captivity, or being held captive, is a state wherein humans or other animals are confined to a particular space and prevented from leaving or moving freely. An example in humans is imprisonment. Prisoners of war are usually held in captivity by a ...

. Cared for by the Clifford family, Terrance's life cycle is video-documented online through the

social network A social network is a social structure consisting of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), networks of Dyad (sociology), dyadic ties, and other Social relation, social interactions between actors. The social network per ...

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

Life

Terrance was a California two-spot octopus (''Octopus bimaculoides'' or "bimac"), a common pet octopus in the United States. Terrance's early life is not known, but her seller claimed to be a diver with a

fishing license A fishing license (American English, US), fishing licence (British English, UK), or fishing permit is an administrative or legal mechanism employed by state government, state and local governments to regulate fishing activities within their ad ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Terrance was bought through ''Octopus News Magazine Online,'' and arrived on October 11, 2023 after a journey via

UPS UPS most commonly refers to: * Uninterruptible power supply, a device which provides continuous power to electronics * United Parcel Service, an American courier company UPS or ups may also refer to: Companies and organizations United Parcel S ...

in a

cardboard box Cardboard boxes are industrially prefabricated boxes, primarily used for packaging goods and materials. Specialists in industry seldom use the term cardboard because it does not denote a specific material. The term ''cardboard'' may refer to a ...

styrofoam Styrofoam is a brand of closed-cell extruded polystyrene foam (XPS), manufactured to provide continuous building insulation board used in walls, roofs, and foundations as thermal insulation and as a water barrier. This material is light blue in ...

insulation and

plastic bag A plastic bag, poly bag, or pouch is a type of container made of thin, flexible, plastic film, nonwoven fabric, or plastic textile. Plastic bags are used for containing and transporting goods such as foods, produce, Powder (substance), powders, ...

filled with air and

seawater Seawater, or sea water, is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% (35 g/L, 35 ppt, 600 mM). This means that every kilogram (roughly one liter by volume) of seawater has approximat ...

at the Clifford's

Edmond, Oklahoma Edmond is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States. It is a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, located in Central Oklahoma. Its population was 94,428 according to the 2020 United States census, a 16% increase from 2010. maki ...

home, already considered a mature adult. With bimacs having an overall life expectancy of 12 to 18 months, the life expectancy of Terrance was short. Two months after her arrival, and although originally thought to be male, in December 2023, Terrance laid about 50 eggs, a common behavior in the last life phase of female octopuses. It is believed Terrance mated before being caught and sold. Female octopodes generally will care for their eggs, even if eggs laid in captivity are usually unfertilized. Surprisingly, those eggs hatched in February 2024, with 50 hatchlings. Female octopodes may delay laying and development of fertilized eggs when stressed until a more favorable situation is secured. To ensure their survival, the emergent hatchlings were separated and put into individual housings in order to avoid natural occurring cannibalization. Most hatchlings have been moved to an exotic pets room where they are fed live

mysid shrimp Mysida is an order (biology), order of small, shrimp-like crustaceans in the malacostracan superorder Peracarida. Their common name opossum shrimps stems from the presence of a Brood pouch (Peracarida), brood pouch or "marsupium" in females. The ...

daily and where a new 180-gallon tank is currently under preparation. After 4 months, all hatchlings had died.

Death

Terrance passed away on April 22, 2024, in the aquarium at the Clifford family home.

Caretakers

Terrance is mainly cared for by the Clifford family from Edmond, Oklahoma since 11 October 2023. The oldest child in the family has had a resilient passion for marine life and octopuses since 2 or 3 years old, hence the family's purchase. The octopus arrived for the child's 9th birthday and he named it Terrance. The Cliffords video-documented their earlier learning process, setting up stabilized aquariums ecosystems suitable for marine wild life,

purchasing Purchasing is the procurement process a business or organization uses to acquire goods or services to accomplish its goals. Although there are several organizations that attempt to set standards in the purchasing process, processes can vary gr ...

the octopus, caring for it and its hatchlings is online through the

Tiktok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

, receiving more than 3 millions views.{{Cite web , title=@Doctoktopus , url=https://www.tiktok.com/@doctoktopus , access-date=2024-04-19 , website=www.tiktok.com Tim Tytle, a former

radiologist Radiology ( ) is the medical specialty that uses medical imaging to diagnose diseases and guide treatment within the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography (which is why its name has a root referring to radiation), but tod ...

with experience with

exotic pet An exotic pet is a pet which is relatively rare or unusual to keep, or is generally thought of as a Wild animal, wild species rather than as a Domesticated animal, domesticated pet. The definition varies by culture, location, and over time—as an ...

s such as

gecko Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates. They range from . Geckos are unique among lizards ...

sea horses A seahorse (also written ''sea-horse'' and ''sea horse'') is any of 46 species of small marine bony fish in the genus ''Hippocampus''. The genus name comes from the Ancient Greek (), itself from () meaning "horse" and () meaning "sea monster ...

, venomous

lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...

s and octopuses has also been pivotal in the family's efforts, and an intern has been hired to look for potential long term adopters. Following the hatchings, the family researched related literatures, reached out to

marine life Marine life, sea life or ocean life is the collective ecological communities that encompass all aquatic animals, aquatic plant, plants, algae, marine fungi, fungi, marine protists, protists, single-celled marine microorganisms, microorganisms ...

experts and invested in tanks,

water filters A water filter removes impurities by lowering contamination of water using a fine physical barrier, a chemical process, or a biological process. Filters cleanse water to different extents, for purposes such as: providing agricultural irrigation, ...

water chiller A water chillerGeorge F Van Patten. Hydroponic Basics. is a device used to lower the temperature of water. Most chillers use refrigerant in a closed loop system to facilitate heat exchange from water where the refrigerant is then pumped to a locatio ...

s, live

crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura (meaning "short tailed" in Greek language, Greek), which typically have a very short projecting tail-like abdomen#Arthropoda, abdomen, usually hidden entirely under the Thorax (arthropo ...

snails A snail is a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gas ...

and

clam Clam is a common name for several kinds of bivalve mollusc. The word is often applied only to those that are deemed edible and live as infauna, spending most of their lives halfway buried in the sand of the sea floor or riverbeds. Clams h ...

s and in hopes of expanding the infrastructure to support the octopuses.

Reception

The Terrance hatchlings were covered by national news organizations such as ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', AP, ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'',

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

and others. The reception to Terrance and its hatchlings' captivity have been diverse. Commenters have been both enthusiastic and critical. Paul Clarkson, director of husbandry operations at the

Monterey Bay Aquarium Monterey Bay Aquarium is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit public aquarium in Monterey, California. Known for its regional focus on the marine habitats of Monterey Bay, it was the first to exhibit a living kelp forest when it opened in Octob ...

Monterey, California Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, California, Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a popu ...

, has praised the Cliffords for their dedication and care. He praised the family's efforts in raising awareness about sea life and octopuses. Both Clarkson and Jordan Baker at

New England Aquarium The New England Aquarium is a nonprofit organization located in Boston, Massachusetts. The species exhibited include Harbor seal, harbor and northern fur seals, California sea lions, African penguin, African and southern rockhopper penguins, gia ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

cautioned pet owners about the difficulty to care for an octopus, requiring full time dedication. Barbara J. King, a former

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

and primatologist at the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public university, public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III of England, William III and Queen ...

who has written literature on octopuses opposes holding them in captivity.

References

Individual octopuses

Life

Death

Caretakers

Reception

See also

References