Octopuses are very smart creatures.  And it seems they’re always in the news creating mischief. There was Otto the octopus in Germany who climbed to the rim of his aquarium and shot water at the overhead light shorting it out.  And more recently, Sid the octopus in New Zealand escaped from his tank and hid in a drain for five days.

The latest octopus making headlines is Truman from the New England Aquarium who managed to squeeze his 7-foot body into a 14-inch square plastic box.  Truman’s caretakers had placed a few crabs inside a 6-inch box, latched it, and then placed the small box inside the 14-inch box and latched that. In this way, it would serve as an enrichment activity for Truman because he would have to figure out how to unlatch the first box and then the second box in order to eat the crabs.  But instead, Truman decided to skip a step and just squeeze his head and legs through a 2-inch hole in the large box. Once inside, he got to work on unlatching the smaller box.

For more information:
Boston.com
New England Aquarium “Octopus in a Box” Blog Post

To learn more about octopuses, see Animal Fact Guide’s article: Common Octopus.

A baby armadillo was born on February 19 at the Minnesota Zoo.  The birth of the little charmer pictured above  is the third of its kind in the US this year.

Three-banded armadillos live in Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina.  Habitat destruction has threatened their survival.

For more information:
Star Tribune
Minnesota Zoo

The jaguar captured and collared in Arizona a few weeks ago, Macho B, was recaptured by wildlife officials when the big cat’s tracking device showed him to be lethargic.  Tests revealed that the jaguar suffered from severe, untreatable kidney failure, a common ailment among older cats.   Biologists put the jaguar to sleep the same day.  Macho B was estimated to be 14-16 years old.

For more info: National Geographic.

In his last days in office, former President Bush set forth a ruling that allowed federal agencies to bypass government scientists when launching new projects that could affect endangered species. In that way, the well-being of endangered animals was devalued.

But on Tuesday, President Obama reversed the ruling and restored the requirement to consult government scientists before going forward with new projects.

According to President Obama, “The work of scientists and experts in my administration, including right here in the Interior Department, will be respected. For more than three decades, the Endangered Species Act has successfully protected our nation’s most threatened wildlife, and we should be looking for ways to improve it, not weaken it.”

For more information: CNN.com.

Check out the latest article added to Animal Fact Guide:

Koala
Koalas have special adaptations that enable them to feast on eucalyptus leaves. Eucalyptus leaves are highly fibrous and poisonous to other animals. But koalas have bacteria in their stomachs that break down the fiber and toxic oils and allow them to absorb 25% of the nutrients.
Learn more about koalas »