Octo-play

Staff at a sea life centre have come up with a new way to keep their eight-armed octopus stimulated.
Lego bricks were introduced to Olly the Octopus's tank on Thursday to stop him getting bored at the Sea Life Park in Weymouth, Dorset.

Lou Matthews, who works at the park, said: "The Giant Pacific Octopus in general is an intelligent creature. In laboratory tests and aquariums, it has been able to solve mazes very quickly, unscrew jar lids to retrieve food inside the jar, and even mimic another octopus in a different tank. It is vital that we keep Olly occupied in order for him to remain happy and healthy. He seems to be having lots of fun with his new Duplo. As well as the large bricks, we also design puzzles for him involving Tupperware boxes full of food, jam jars and plastic balls. Staff here are enjoying watching him - he's a real character."

The Giant Pacific Octopus measures on average about 16ft long from arm tip to arm tip.

The record weight for a Giant Pacific is 600lb, but most weigh about 50lb to 90lb. Newly-hatched young are the size of a grain of rice.