Aging octopus finally a mom

updated 3:06 p.m. ET April 14, 2005

ANCHORAGE - Aurora held tight to her dream of motherhood with all eight of her arms. Even when most any other expectant mom would have become discouraged, not Aurora the octopus. The aging Giant Pacific, a resident of the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward, embraced her maternal instinct and was rewarded this week.

Her eggs finally began hatching. The first of thousands have burst out into pearly white, tear-shaped babies with huge eyes and stubby appendages.

"Every so often, not at great speed," said center spokesman Jason Wettstein.

As of Wednesday, there were nine baby octopus in a rearing tank. Every hour, food was being dispensed through an electronic, automatic feeder. Three other tanks with thousands of eggs were set up in different locations in the center.

Aquarist Ed DeCastro noticed the first newborn Sunday.

"Initially we thought maybe it was a fluke," DeCastro said. "But it turned out there were more to follow."

Aurora began her long march toward motherhood last May when she was introduced to J-1, a long-in-the-tentacle bachelor. To the delight of aquarists, the two hit it off, flashing colors and retreating to a dark corner of the center's "Denizens of the Deep" display.

A month later, Aurora laid tens of thousands of eggs. Her sense of mothering was strong, despite the fact that her eggs didn't appear to develop and aquarists eventually believed they were sterile.

Day in and day out, she sucked in water through her mantle and sent waves of cleansing water over the eggs. She defended them against hungry sea cucumbers and starfish.

She continued to tend her eggs even after J-1, who had been removed from her tank for crankiness, died of old age in September.

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