Mr. Tickle the Giant Pacific octopus is cooling down this summer, thanks to a selection of fish-flavoured ice lollies.
Cornwall may be famous for its ice cream, but local manufacturers have as yet failed to come up with Rummy-nose and raisin, Mint choc-chip starfish or Rasbora ripple flavours so staff at Newquay's Blue Reef Aquarium have made their own cephalopods' sundae using crab, shrimp and sand eels.
The frozen fishy feasts are part of the aquarium's ongoing environmental enrichment programme which aims to prevent the brainy beast becoming bored by making him work harder for his food, as well as helping cool him during hot weather.
Blue Reef curator Matt Slater, said: "Giant Pacific octopus are incredible creatures and we have been able to develop a really close relationship with this particular animal. The ice lollies are definitely his favourite treat and he goes crazy for them. He doesn't seem to mind holding on to the freezing cold lolly at all. In fact he wouldn't let go and climbed almost completely out of the water with his tentacles firmly wrapped around the lolly!"
Enteroctopus dofleini is the world's largest known octopus species with adults typically weighing around 15kg/33lb and with an arm span of around 4.3m/14', although considerably larger specimens have been recorded.
They are fast growing, reaching adult size in around two years but rarely live longer than five years, dying after breeding.
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