Aging octopus finally a mom

Aurora didn't even give up in December when aquarists — convinced the eggs weren't fertile — began draining her 3,600-gallon tank. As the water went down and she was going down with it, she sprayed her eggs, now exposed and drying on a rock.

Sharp-eyed intern Meghan Kokal saved the day. Some eggs were placed in her palm and she gave them a close look, asking about the two red dots. The dots turned out to be developing eyes.

Aquarium curator Richard Hocking said the longer-than-usual wait — it takes 6 to 8 months in the Lower 48 for Giant Pacific octopus eggs to hatch — probably has to do with Alaska's colder water.

Jason Wettstein / Alaska SeaLife Center via AP A baby octopus swims in a tank at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward, Alaska on Wednesday.

The aquarium gets its water straight from Resurrection Bay. It was 41 degrees coming into the center Wednesday.

Hocking said the baby octopus are vulnerable, their survival uncertain.

"If we can get one I would be pretty happy with that," he said, "and we may be lucky and have more than that."

Aurora's fate, though, is sealed. Giant Pacific females usually die about the same time as their eggs hatch, mostly because they stop eating for months and spend their energy defending their eggs.

Aurora, who is probably about 4, was roughly the size of a grapefruit when she was found living inside an old tire in front of the SeaLife Center.

"This kind of means the end of her life," DeCastro said.

Aurora, now much smaller than the 37 pounds she weighed when she was involved with J-1, may last a bit longer. Aquarists have been hand-feeding her crab, squid, herring and fish.

If anything, she appears invigorated, DeCastro said.

"She is still tending the eggs," he said.

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