Seattle aquarium cancels octopus mating show due to cannibalism concerns

The male octopus Kong weighs 70 pounds and staff warned he could ‘eat’ the smaller female

Kong weighs 70 pounds and is just too much for his female partners (Seattle Aquarium)

With eight tentacles that reach up to 20 feet, giant Pacific octopuses can more than wrap their arms around you and have plenty of love to give with their three hearts.

However, an annual octopus mating show on Valentine’s day was called off due to staff concerns that the male octopus was too large and could mistake partner for prey.

The Seattle Aquarium’s giant Pacific male octopus, called Kong, weighs 70 pounds and is reportedly too big to mate with the females who weigh 30 to 40 pounds. Furthermore, Kong might have eaten the victims rather than produce offspring.

Instead of mating, Kong will be released back into local waters Puget Sound on Monday, as reported by Komo.

Mating age is typically between 1.5 and three years old for an octopus.

Octopuses only live three or four years. However, the aquarium’s blog said scientists have not yet found a reliable way to tell their age - as their size is only an indicator of the availability of food when the creatures are young.

As part of Octopus week at the aquarium, staff have given visitors important information.

“A Valentine's Day ‪#‎OctoFact‬—you might want to kiss a red octopus but we don’t advise it: their venom can cause very painful local effects,” they wrote on their Facebook page.