The Metropolis

Mummy octopuses don't eat for six months to protect their babies, then they break your heart

Mike Pollitt | Thursday 2 June, 2011 16:19

“But the mom is near exhaustion. She hasn’t eaten for so long (probably because food could attract predators, or because debris from eating could bring parasites near the eggs), she keeps gently blowing water over the babies, pushing them from the den for as long as she can until she herself floats free and sometimes, only two or three meters from the den opening, she stops breathing…and dies.” [Via Robert Kulwich at NPR]

The whole blog post is just one massive tearjerk. I need a lie down.


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