Diet
This species of octopus commonly preys upon shrimp, crabs, scallops, abalone, clams, lobsters, and fish. Food is procured with its suckers and then crushed using its tough "beak" of chitin. They have also been observed in captivity catching spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) of up to four feet in length. Additionally, consumed carcasses of this same shark species have been found in giant Pacific octopus middens in the wild, providing strong evidence of these octopuses preying on small sharks in their natural habitat. In May 2012, amateur photographer Ginger Morneau was widely reported to have photographed a wild giant Pacific octopus attacking and drowning a seagull, which would demonstrate the species is not above eating any available source of protein within its size range, even birds.
Read more about this topic: Enteroctopus Dofleini
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