Percy the octopus to be released

Marine lab favorite will return to the sea

Photos by Ollie Hancock, article by Dezmond Remington

Humboldt is a place known for its strange creatures. Banana slugs. Ewoks. Bigfoot. One strange beast, kept in captivity for most if not all of its natural life, is getting so big it will soon be released back into the wild. His name is Percy, and he’s a pacific octopus at the Humboldt Marine Lab in Trinidad.

“He is ready to be released as he is too big for our facility and is getting restless,” said Grant Eberle, an aquarist at the marine lab. “Keeping him fed and happy is becoming a full time job.” The lab is waiting for calmer seas until Percy is released. It will be a small event, according culmination of what she has learned in her degree.

Eberle.

“It’s equally stressful as it is gratifying to be putting theories into action, and seeing it come together as not only a completed project in the end, but also as a network of people working towards a sustainable future,” Hunt said.

More information on the project and techniques being used can be found at www.appropedia.org/CCAT_reclamation_station_2023. Those interested in aiding in the project’s completion are encouraged to participate in CCAT’s Volunteer Friday events, which occur weekly from 10am-12pm and 1-4pm. More information can be found on the organization’s website at ccat.humboldt.edu/ and Instagram @ccat.humboldt.