![]() Perhaps because our field has been infiltrated by rogue actors acting on behalf of Koch Industries. Perhaps because we have not always used the most temperate language in responding to the vicious attempts to discredit the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus on the World Wildlife Fund’s online forum, and the Animal Welfare Institute Facebook page, and in the comment sections to various subreddits and Tumblr blogs. We have moved into his former home, slept in his former bed, hung stockings at Christmastime on the mantle which was once only his.įor years, our calls to protect these unique animals have been silenced. We have exchanged secrets and convivial advice. ![]() We have shared late dinners and early breakfasts. For years, we have taken up Plumpton’s project, taken up his mantle. What a majestic creature, what a bumbling moron it takes to remain unmoved in the face of such wonder. What a fascinating animal, you are surely thinking. Swinging between branches through tentaculation, foraging for frogs and bird eggs, the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus astounds! It has the largest brain-to-body ration of any mollusk, and is one of very few species observed practicing religious rituals in the wild. The animal has never been granted the respect so freely given to cephalopods of no greater biological sophistication, even after the recent and tragic extinctions of the Douglas Octopus and Red-Ringed Madrona Sucker. Finally, we correct misperceptions and name the nefarious actors responsible.īefore we dive into the future of the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus, it is essential to contextualize the animal’s historical significance insomuch as it reveals biases and hypocrisies which afflict the broader zoological community to this day. Plumpton, we trace the changes in ecosystem and biodiversity within the coniferous rainforests, and speculate as to the likelihood of the species’ continued survival now that climate change has begun exacting its toll. This op-ed––based on research conducted in the temperate rainforests of North America’s Olympic Peninsula––examines the implications of ecological destruction in the habitat of the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus. It would be wrong to ignore the fact that we work in a dying field while living in a dying world.
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