Dr. Clifford attempted to explain the challenges of owning an octopus in his post. He faced high costs, sleep deprivation, and significant water damage to his home, which necessitated extensive renovations. He mentioned, “I didn’t want to form a permanent or romantic attachment to my baby while still caring for it.”
Despite his efforts, he was inundated with requests to adopt the hatching octopuses.
Vincent Nyman, a wildlife trade expert at Oxford Brooks University, who researched the impact of social media on the exotic pet trade, stated, “If you showcase it, people will want it. And if you advise against getting it, it’s like saying ‘Don’t do this,’ right?”
Life-saving
Nevertheless, Dr. Clifford ultimately decided that he could not send the baby octopuses to private homes. Instead, he arranged for them to be placed in a reputable aquarium or university once they were healthy enough. On April 21st, he made an announcement that he had found homes for all the hatching.
The following day, one of the hatching octopuses, Terrance, passed away and was buried in the backyard beside trees whose trunks resembled octopus tentacles.
Now, the priority was to keep the baby octopuses alive until they could be relocated to their new homes. The odds were stacked against them, as only a small percentage typically survives in the wild.
Dr. Clifford shared that approximately 20 hatching octopuses died within the first month alone, due to factors like cannibalism and power outages.
The pressure to ensure the survival of the baby octopuses weighed heavily on Dr. Clifford, especially with a large and invested audience following his journey.
A local reptile expert and breeder who had become a friend to Dr. Clifford stepped in to help care for and house a baby octopus while Dr. Clifford’s home underwent renovations. Despite their collaborative efforts, the hatching octopuses continued to perish.
Source: www.nytimes.com