Oregon Coast Aquarium is a sponsor of That Oregon Life.

There’s a new reason to linger at the octopus exhibit in Newport, and she weighs all of four pounds.

Meet Juicebox, the Oregon Coast Aquarium’s newest giant Pacific octopus. She’s now on view in the Octopus Grotto, with a name borrowed from a fictional shapeshifter and an arrival story that began about a mile off the Oregon Coast.

The divers who found her were out there working on shark research. Finding the Aquarium’s next octopus was quite the bonus.

A shark research dive took an unexpected turn

On August 29, the Aquarium’s scientific dive team headed to Johnson Rock, a reef between Lost Creek and Beaver Creek. Their main task was to replace an acoustic receiver in roughly 60 feet of water, part of the Aquarium’s work with Oregon State University’s Big Fish Lab.

That receiver listens for tagged animals moving through the area, primarily sharks. Jim Burke, the Aquarium’s director of animal care, said the equipment is replaced about every 12 months, and the team reviews its detections with the Big Fish Lab.

During the same dive, they found Juicebox. The team brought her to the Aquarium under a scientific permit issued by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

After hundreds of dives in the area, the crew knows this stretch of ocean well. Now visitors can meet one of its residents without squeezing into a wetsuit.

Juicebox moved into the Octopus Grotto on September 30, after the Aquarium released Anakin, its oldest octopus.

Why Juicebox is such a fitting name

If you’ve read Dungeon Crawler Carl, you probably caught the reference immediately. If you haven’t, this is a wonderfully strange introduction.

The book series by Washington author Matt Dinniman follows a Coast Guard veteran named Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s prize-winning show cat through an alien-run dungeon. Their ordeal doubles as a reality show broadcast across the galaxy. Somewhere in that chaos is Juicebox, a changeling who can take different forms.

Aquarists Abby Brunner and Caleb Wilson chose the name for their new octopus. The connection made sense to a team that loves the series: an animal so good at blending into its surroundings deserves a shapeshifter’s name.

“Juicebox became a name of choice because in the book series that character is a changeling, or shapeshifter, which felt very appropriate with how well octopuses can ‘shapeshift’ to match their environments,” Brunner said.

Brunner also said the team appreciates the books’ dark humor and the way perseverance and found family help the characters through hard times. It’s a fun glimpse of the people caring for these animals, and how a shared favorite book can find its way onto an exhibit.

There’s already an octopus named Donut

Juicebox joins another Dungeon Crawler Carl namesake at the Aquarium, although the two occupy separate spaces.

Donut is a 22.5-pound male donated by a local crabbing boat on April 27. His name started with a very literal observation: Caroline Emch-Wei, the Aquarium’s curator of fishes and invertebrates, noticed a donut-shaped hole in the webbing between his arms while he was in holding.

The literary connection sealed it. Princess Donut is the show cat at the center of the series, so the name worked on both levels.

Donut has been the Aquarium’s Octo Encounters octopus since early July. Juicebox is the octopus visitors can currently look for in the Octopus Grotto. If you’re booking a separate encounter, keep that distinction in mind.

Her story includes a return to the reef

The part of Juicebox’s story we love most is what the Aquarium plans to do next.

Staff intend to care for her for about a year, then return her to the same reef where the divers found her. There, she can live out her life and possibly reproduce.

Giant Pacific octopuses generally live only three to five years and reproduce once, near the end of their lives. That gives her planned return real significance. Visitors get a chance to learn about her species up close, and her time at the Aquarium is intended to be one chapter in a life that continues offshore.

For now, she offers a connection to a part of Oregon most of us rarely see. We can stand on the beach and watch the waves all afternoon without knowing what’s living a mile beyond them. Juicebox puts an unforgettable face to that underwater world.

How to visit Juicebox in Newport

You’ll find Juicebox in the Octopus Grotto at the Oregon Coast Aquarium, located at 2820 SE Ferry Slip Road in Newport.

Give yourself time to enjoy the rest of the Aquarium, too. Sea otters, glowing jellies, and the underwater tunnels make it easy to turn an octopus visit into a full morning or afternoon. The Aquarium currently lists fall and winter hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with parking included in admission. Check its visitor guide for current hours and tickets before heading over.

Bring a layer for the outdoor portions of your visit, especially as fall weather settles onto the coast. And if you’re making a day of it, our Newport day with kids itinerary can help you fit the Aquarium around lunch and a little waterfront exploring. For a longer stay, start with our Newport travel guide.

Whether you’re a longtime octopus fan or a Dungeon Crawler Carl reader delighted by the name, Juicebox deserves a stop on your next Newport visit. Just remember to leave a little extra time at the grotto. The four-pound newcomer has a pretty good story.