COSTA MESA : Stubby the Octopus Dies of Old Age

When an octopus with six of his eight tentacles ripped off arrived two years ago to recover at Orange Coast College’s 1,300-gallon cold-water aquarium, the injured creature, nicknamed Stubby, quickly became the most popular attraction.

“People like to root for the underdog. He was definitely the underdog,” said Charles Bushman, 21, a student aquarium manager who cared for Stubby and now wants to study octopuses in graduate school.

Stubby died about two weeks ago, apparently from old age, to the dismay of the college students and children who have visited the county’s largest cold-water aquarium.

Stubby, a two-spot octopus native to the ocean off Orange County, apparently lost six of his tentacles when his first owner pried him off a fish-tank rock to give him away, aquarium workers said.

Stubby was shy when he arrived at the aquarium but slowly warmed up to his caretakers, Bushman said. Eventually, he recognized his feeders and would change color when they approached, he said.

Considered the smartest of the non-vertebrates, octopuses are curious creatures that have keen eyesight and plenty of creativity, said marine science professor Tom S. Garrison.

In the past, octopuses housed in the college’s marine biology department have escaped from their own tanks, crawled over to other tanks, lifted lids, eaten the fish inside and returned to their tank, Garrison said.

An octopus named Omar liked to crawl around the floor, Garrison said, noting that octopuses can survive out of water for about five minutes.

Omar’s antics finally got him into trouble. “He was so curious that he wandered into a water intake (valve), and became fish food,” Garrison said.

Stubby was more shy. He used to hang out in a small tank near the door of the Lewis Center for Applied Science. Aquarium managers said Stubby liked to stick to the glass wall of his tank and watch students walk by.

“If you put your finger on the glass, he would put his tentacle on the other side,” remembered marine biology professor Dennis Kelly.

After Stubby’s death, someone left three red roses on the ledge of his tank, Kelly said. When those were removed, pink carnations took their place. Some children also sent cards of condolence, Kelly said.

“It was amazing. A lot of students came in and asked what happened to Stubby,” Bushman said.

After Stubby’s death, students lowered his body into the ocean off the Newport Beach Pier, using a minnow-collecting net.

There are no plans to replace him.

“I think the aquariumists here are all kind of sad about it,” Kelly said.

He warned that anyone trying to capture an octopus for a pet could very likely injure or kill the delicate animals.