Inky's great escape was 'typical' octopus behaviour, says Alberta cephalopod expert

His slippery escape to freedom has made him an international celebrity,but apparentlyInky the octopus was just doing what cephalopods do.

"Octopuses get bored," said Jennifer Mather, a professor in the department of psychology at the University of Lethbridgewhostudiesthebehaviour of octopus and squid.

"I mean, here's an animal that explores everything in its environment and takes everything apart if you give it a chance. A tank can be a pretty boring place".

Under the cloak of darkness, Inky found his way out of his enclosure at the National Aquarium in New Zealand. Then he found a drain pipe and squeezed through back to the sea.

Just "typical" octopus behaviour, said Mather.

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"Octopuses are smart, highly exploratory, very strong and their body is completely compressible because they have no fixed bones. So the result is if they want to go someplace, they will."

Mathercanappreciate Inky's need to break free.

She's spent three decadesstudying the squishy sea critters more than a thousand kilometres from the ocean.

"I have the luck to do field work in nice warm places like Bermuda and Hawaii."

Calgary Eyeopener7:32Why Inky the octopus broke free

We talk to an Alberta octopus expert about the great escape of Inky the octopus from an aquarium in New Zealand.

They can bemean, loving orshy

Now thatInkyhas said sayonarato captivity,theNew Zealandaquarium has justone octopus left.

Buthe's not the star Inky was.

"We have another octopus, Blotchy, but he is smaller than Inky, and Inky had the personality," Rob Yarrell, the aquarium's manager toldthe Guardian.

Which iswhy aquarium octopuses are almost always given nicknames, said Mather.

She points to the the giant Pacific octopuses at the Seattle Aquarium that werenamed after famous people and cartoon characters.

"[There was] Leisure Suit Larry whose arms were all over you if you stuck your hand into the tank.And they had LucretiaMacEvil who tried destroy everything in her tank. Andthey had Emily Dickinsonwho was so shy she hid behind the fake backdrop."

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With files from the Calgary Eyeopener