Say What?! Octopuses Found at Boyd Lake
A five-year old boy found an octopus on the beach at Boyd Lake a couple weeks ago. Being a cephalopod, none of which can survive in fresh water (I'm calling lake water 'fresh' in lieu of saltwater,) the animal was dead - as were the two that the boy's dad found right afterwards. When he did, he got ahold of a park ranger, who disposed of the octopuses (which I found out is the correct plural to octopus - not 'octopi.') He couldn't, however, give a possible explanation as to the why's, how's, nor who's. And everybody else is clueless on this as well.
The best answers anyone has had yet are that either someone had them as pets and inhumanely disposed of them there, or that someone was dumping dead octopuses for some unknown reason. Either way, the person who put them there could be charged for illegal dumping. If they were hoping to use the octopuses as fishing bait - which wouldn't work, as freshwater fish wouldn't be interested in them - they could lose their fishing license.
Also a mystery is why there would be octopuses in Colorado in the first place. Very few pet stores offer them; however, we're told they're a lot of work to keep as pets, but are surprisingly personable.