A licence to thrill – SEA LIFE’s Octopus nicknamed Octopussy as she’s the ultimate Bond fan!

With the latest instalment of the Bond franchise set to hit screens on September 30th, Weymouth SEA LIFE Adventure Park has shared footage of its in-house Octopus, watching the No Time To Die trailer in fascination.

The Octopus, named Gamora, is known at the centre for being the ultimate bond fanatic, so much so that staff at SEA LIFE, now call her ‘Octopussy’ after the Bond girl originally played by Maud Adams.

Gamora a.k.a Octopussy is such a huge 007 devotee, that the Animal Care Team have added replica merchandise from the film franchise into her tank, so she is regularly seen playing with the iconic Bond car, Aston Martin, and a martini glass – shaken, not stirred, of course.

The obsession with the spy series first began during lockdown, as the SEA LIFE team tried to keep the sea creatures entertained with music and TV due to the lack of visitors. Whenever the James Bond theme tune would play, ‘Octopussy’ would swim over to the tank’s glass to watch the action scenes play out.

Octopuses are known to be incredibly clever creatures with a variety of impressive skills such as squeezing through tiny nooks and crannies, and they can also change the colour of their skin to camouflage perfectly with theirsurroundings – making them the ultimate secret agent!

So, it came as no surprise that ‘Octopussy’ found herself drawn to the suave and sophisticated spy, James Bond, as she’d make the ultimate Bond girl herself.

Tamsin Mutton-McKnight, General Manager at SEA LIFE Weymouth, said: “Gamora is an outgoing octopus and is always showing off her flexibility skills in the tank, we can’t believe how Bond obsessed she’s become. The Animal Care Team often give her different objects for enrichment, as they encourage her natural investigative behaviours. After adding the toy Aston Martin and martini glass into her habitat, she’s been playing non-stop. We’ve even captured images of her clinging onto the car, as if she’s protecting it from being stolen.

“We played the latest trailer for No Time To Die to her through the glass and she was transfixed. We thought it was only right to nickname her Octopussy – it was meant to be!”

If you’d like to come along and visit the Bond super-fan, ‘Octopussy’ alongside all the other wonderful creatures at Weymouth SEA LIFE Adventure Park, then head to the website to book your visit online:

https://www.visitsealife.com/weymouth/