Name Shedd's New Giant Octopus: Guests Invited To Vote

CHICAGO — A giant Pacific octopus is now calling the Shedd Aquarium home, but staff and guests aren't sure what to call the massive new resident.

Visitors attending the Shedd's latest immersive exhibition will have the opportunity to vote on the cephalopod's name from a list of five choices. Voting is only open from June 28 to July 4 for attendees of Octopus: Blue Planet II 4D Experience, an add-on to the general ticket. But the eight-armed addition will live permanently in the aquarium's oceans exhibit for general admission customers as well.

A giant Pacific octopus is the largest octopus species in the world and is known for being tricky. Shedd workers said they often leave treats for the octopus in tightly-sealed glass jars, just to engage the creature's natural intelligence and problem-solving skills.

"This naming opportunity creates a deeper connection with guests to marine science and explain why octopuses and aquatic life, in general, are important to our world and way of life," officials from the Shedd wrote in a news release.

The names were decided by the aquarium's animal care staff and range from scientific to namesakes.

• Anderson: For Dr. Roland Anderson, one of the leading cephalopod researchers in the public aquarium field: he worked at Seattle Aquarium and passed away in 2014.
• Attenborough: For Sir David Attenborough, whose narrations about nature have reached many millions of people and provided a voice to the natural world.
• Dofleini (DOF-lee-knee): Scientific name of the giant Pacific octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini).
• Knapp: For Dr. Chuck Knapp, the vice president of conservation research at Shedd, who has been at the aquarium for 30 years.
• Sawyer: For Ernie Sawyer, Shedd's senior aquarist who retired last year and was dedicated to the care and welfare of animals in the Oceans exhibit for many years.

Shedd researchers said this particular octopus has arms that average 14-feet-long with 280 suckers on each that allow it to taste, smell and feel.