KEY POINTS:
Octi has come a long way since being pulled out of a rockpool - she can now open bottles, using her tentacles.
The National Aquarium's eight-tentacled friend uses just two of them to twist the lid off a bottle to get to her dinner.
It's a trick she honed with the help of her keepers at the Napier aquarium, who noticed she was friendly and would latch on to them when they put their hands in the tank.
She can now open the bottle in 2 1/2 minutes when there's a tempting crab inside.
Octi was brought to the aquarium three months ago by a family who found her in a Harding Road rock pool.
The octopus isn't on display, but lives in a tank out the back where she spends most of her time hiding in a shell until a keeper comes to play.
Opening bottles isn't the only trick. The octopus has also learned to rise to the top of the tank, eye up the keeper and squirt water in his face.
The aquarium's manager, Rob Yarrall, said Octi was the friendliest octopus he had come across.
"She seems to know when she's playing and when she's not," Mr Yarrall said. "A lot of people don't realise octopuses are very intelligent. They are observant and extremely interactive."
- HAWKE'S BAY TODAY
