Tree Octopi

What They Are

On average, these animals are 30-33 cm from tentacle tip to mantle as adults.
These octopi are amphibious, so they spend only their early life and a part of the mating season in the water.
Thanks to the moisture of the rainforests and their specialized skin adaptions, they can stay out of the water for long periods of time.
However, they do spend time in small pools of water to avoid unnecessarily drying out.

These cephalopods have the largest brain to body ratio in their family.

Where They Live

Tree Octopi can be found in the temperate rainforests of the Olympic Penninsula on the West Coast of North America.
The map above shows where they live, including their spawning waters.

Why It's Endangered

This octopus is endangered for a multitude of reasons. They are losing habitat space by logging and suburban encroachment. The multitude of new roads are cutting is access to the water necessary for spawning. Foreign species such as cats hunt the octopi, along with the increasing numbers of their natural predators such as bald eagles and sasquatches, causing numbers to drastically fall. What few that make it to the Canal are further hampered in their reproduction by the growing problem of pollution from farming and residential run-off.

Another problem these animals face is overharvesting by the new-illegal octopus trade. After the use of bird-feathers, fashion turned to octopi. They were considered fashionable decorations for hats, as can be seen in the image above.
Efforts were made to protect these animals in the past, but their efforts were stopped by the timber industry. The octopi were found a nuisance by the lumberjack, as they would hide among the felled trees, gumming up sawmills and staining pulp vats with their ink. Meetings were held to teach everyone (incorrectly) that tree octopi were bad, as is shown in the photograph above. For this image, many of these gentle species were killed.

How You Can Help

Below are a few ways you can help the tree octopi survive!

Write your representatives to let them know that you are concerned and that you feel the tree octopus should be included on the Endangered Species List and given special protection.
Write to celebrities asking them to speak out on behalf of the tree octopus during press junkets and award shows.
Help build awareness of the tree octopus by telling your friends, co-workers, or even random people on the streets.
Place a tentacle ribbon on your website or social media.
Participate in tree octopus awareness marches. You can demonstrate their plight during the march by having your friends dress up as tree octopuses while you attack them in a lumberjack costume.
Pamphlet your neighborhood. Tentacle ribbons make excellent doorknob hangers.
Boycott companies that use non-tree-octopus-safe wood harvesting practices.

Other

Visit the link below to learn more. Tree Octopi