How a Dying Octopus Is Being Honored By the Aquarium of the Pacific (Exclusive)

The fate of a dying octopus, who is spending her final days tending to her eggs in a Los Angeles aquarium, has been revealed.

On Sept. 8, the Aquarium of the Pacific announced that its giant Pacific octopus, named Ghost, entered senescence, the final stage of her life cycle. “Senescence begins when a female lays eggs and devotes the rest of her life to caring for them, neglecting her own basic needs like eating,” the Instagram announcement read, confirming that Ghost’s eggs are unfertilized.

Now the Aquarium of the Pacific is sharing what will happen to Ghost’s remains after she passes away. In an update on Ghost’s condition, Nate Jaros, the aquarium’s vice president of animal care, tells PEOPLE exclusively that Ghost, who “continues to rest comfortably behind the scenes,” will be cremated.

“After she passes, our veterinary team will do a necropsy examination similar to a human autopsy to learn as much as we can about her health to ensure we are providing optimal care and nutrition; and her remains will be cremated,” Jaros tells PEOPLE.

Ghost arrived at the aquarium in May 2024 after a scientific collector brought her into the facility. As Jaros explains, “Our giant Pacific octopuses are sustainably and humanely collected from the wild by permitted specialists that conduct scientific collections.”

She is originally from the waters of British Columbia, Canada, and is estimated to be between 2 and 4 years old. Ghost’s age falls in the range of the average giant Pacific octopus lifespan of three to five years. 

In the Instagram post announcing her final days, the Aquarium of the Pacific said Ghost “is a wonderful octopus and has made an eight-armed impression on all of our hearts.”

The Aquarium of the Pacific is working to honor Ghost’s memory. “Our focus has been to celebrate and honor before her passing through social media sharing about her and her impact on staff and the public,” Jaros says.

The Aquarium is also working on producing merchandise in tribute to Ghost. “We plan to work with an artist to create a print of her,” Jaros shares.

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“We are thankful for how far reaching this story has become,” Jaros adds. “We really hope that part of Ghost’s legacy is bringing awareness to the role aquariums play in connecting people with marine life and ocean stories. Supporting aquariums helps to preserve wild places through important conservation and education efforts.”

While Ghost can never be replaced, the Aquarium of the Pacific is home to another giant Pacific octopus as well — “one behind-the-scenes and another in our octopus habitat.”