SQUIRT THE OCTOPUS CRACKS UNDERWATER PUZZLES

A giant Pacific octopus called Squirt is on the verge of solving an ingenious set of underwater puzzles at the Blue Reef Aquarium in Newquay.

The giant cephalopod, which has a three-metre arm span, has already learned how to unscrew jars and open valves to get at tasty morsels hidden inside.

In a bid to find out just how intelligent he really was, aquarists have now given him a perspex 'safe' which has three separate sealed sections.

Inventor of the 'octobox' Paul Martin, an aquaculture student at Cornwall College, designed a series of increasingly difficult interlocking mechanisms which Squirt must open to get at the food inside. 

Manager at the Blue Reef Aquarium, David Waines, explained: "The octobox is designed as an environmental enrichment tool. Basically it's a transparent box with a locked door and various components can be added to make it harder to open.

"Squirt quickly solved the basic opening mechanism on the first section and has now managed to puzzle out how the latch works on the second door. The ultimate test is to see whether he can now move on to using a lock and separate key which he will have to manipulate to get inside the third and final section," he added. 

The idea of the octobox came to inventor Paul Martin during a tour of the aquarium as part of his zoological conservation management HND course at the college.

"Paul attended lectures given by one of our aquarists and apparently became fascinated by the various 'toys' and objects which we put in with the octopus to keep them active and mentally stimulated," explained David. 

Giant Pacific octopus are the world's largest species of octopus and are found from Japan to Southern California. The biggest recorded specimen had an arm span of 10 metres (33ft) and weighed 270kgs (600lbs).

As well as being the largest, the giant Pacific is also among the cleverest members of the cephalopod family. Individuals living in aquariums have been filmed sneaking out at night to raid nearby fish-filled displays. 

They mature incredibly quickly - going from the size of a rice grain at birth to being fully grown within the space of two years.