A GIANT Pacific octopus with a two-metre arm span has become so attached to keepers at the Blue Planet Aquarium she has taken to climbing out of her underwater display to grab hold of them.
The pulling power of Jess‘s tentacles is so that powerful assistant curator Andrea Swatman has taken to feeding her with a second member of staff holding on to her legs.
Despite her dimensions – her tentacles could stretch the length of a car – Andrea says Jess is actually a real softy at heart and is just seeking attention.
She said: “Jess is a very clever animal and loves to interact with the keepers. She’s gradually got more and more confident and now – whenever we open her tank she rushes over to say hello.
“She does seem to have taken a particularly shine to me and I even had to come in on one of my days off because she was sulking so much the other aquarists were getting worried!”
It can take Andrea up to five minutes to release herself from Jess’s clutches. Each tentacle is covered with suckers that can be anything up to the size of a £2 coin and leave potentially embarrassing red welts which look like a love bite.
