Ghost the Giant Pacific Octopus (c.2024-2026)
Obituary
Ghost died after entering senescence, after being taken from the wild in 2024 and put on display at an aquarium in California.
Ghost, a giant Pacific octopus, died on March 24, 2026, at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California, after entering senescence in September. Arriving at the aquarium in May 2024, Ghost was taken from the wild in British Columbia at only 3lbs to spend the rest of her life in a tank. This is the second recent octopus death at the aquarium, following Goji’s death in 2025.
Giant Pacific octopuses live alone on the coasts of the Pacific Ocean. They are the largest octopus species in the world, averaging between 22 and 110 pounds. The biggest giant Pacific octopus ever recorded weighed more than 600 pounds and was 30 feet wide.
Octopuses are intelligent, curious animals who can solve puzzles and mazes, use tools, and imitate other octopuses. A small aquarium tank is vastly smaller compared to their ocean habitats and grossly inadequate to meet their complex needs. In the ocean, they encounter other animals like sharks and fishes, swim hundreds of feet deep, and move through tidal pools and coral reefs.
Octopuses are under threat from degraded habitats, industrial fishing, and octopus farming. Though the industry hasn’t taken hold in the US yet, companies are poised to confine and farm millions of octopuses in small tanks before killing them for their meat. The OCTOPUS Act would prohibit commercial octopus farming in the US and ban the importation of farmed octopus. It’s critical that US residents reach out to their legislators to stop octopus farming before it starts.
World Animal Protection urges everyone who loves octopuses to avoid zoos and aquariums and enjoy them in the wild or at accredited sanctuaries.
