Live Octopus eggs hatching

Live Octopus eggs hatching

To witness a PYGMY OCTOPUS with her eggs forming into tiny OCTOPUS babies in front of my very own eyes was a moment I will never forget. This small miracle happened today near the Sanibel lighthouse after strong west winds churned the Gulf Of Mexico all week to wash many shells and other live creatures up on the beach.

octopus with hatching eggs

Octopus with hatching eggs

I met Lauren a few minutes before she found the momma “Octi” on the beach and after she had already saved several live STARFISH and other live shells that were getting trapped on the beach from the receding tide.

Sanibel girl with moon snail seashell

Lauren with a shark’s eye an starfish

When she felt one of the arms of the PYGMY OCTOPUS reach out and touch her ankle, Lauren immediately looked down to see the beached momma next to the PEN SHELL that was housing the nest of her eggs.

Live Octopus eggs hatching close

Live Octopus eggs hatching close

She picked up the little family nestled in the shell and shared this wonderful world of nature in the wild with a few other shellers then let her dad Ron return them to the sea.

I wanted to know a little more about how an octopus lays eggs so this is what I found from Yahoo Answers

“….The female octopus lays about 200,000 eggs (this figure dramatically varies between families, genera, species and also individuals). The female hangs these eggs in strings from the ceiling of her lair, or individually attaches them to the substrate depending on the species. The female cares for the eggs, guarding them against predators, and gently blowing currents of water over them so that they get enough oxygen. The female does not eat during the roughly one-month period spent taking care of the unhatched eggs.”

Look closely at this photo….. it’s absolutely mind blowing that we saw this at the perfect moment in time.

octopus eggs hatching

octopus eggs hatching

Sanibel beach family

Lauren (on the right) with her mom Chris, brother Alex and dad Ron