Mother octopuses never meet their babies, as they stop eating and die of starvation before the young hatch. However, that\u2019s probably a good thing.<\/p>\n
While parents sacrifice much for their offspring, few routinely give up their lives.<\/p>\n
But such is the destiny of a female octopus: tending her eggs is the last thing she\u2019ll do.<\/p>\n
In a gloriously tragic act of self-sacrifice, she stops eating and dies of starvation before the young hatch.<\/p>\n
She might even hasten her demise by actively ripping off parts of her own body.<\/p>\n
These behaviours seem to be orchestrated by nervous impulses from something known as the \u2018optic gland\u2019.<\/p>\n
Removal of this gland increases an octopus\u2019s lifespan considerably, so it\u2019s clearly not a simple case of exhaustion.<\/p>\n
Instead, death seems to be pre- programmed. Octopuses have a cannibalistic streak, so death may be a way to prevent a female from feeding on her own hatchlings.<\/p>\n