300 bouncing baby octopuses hatch at aquarium

An octopus entanglement late last year has produced some celebrated results at the Vancouver Aquarium.

C.C. the giant Pacific octopus was introduced to her male partner, Clove, last October and the end result was a large batch of eggs.

This week, about 300 of those eggs hatched.

In Pictures: Baby octopuses hatch

Dennis Thoney, director of animal operations at the aquarium, says it's not unusual for octopus eggs to hatch in aquariums, but few typically survive, so they'll be feeding the tiny octopuses as long as possible.

Thoney says opportunities to see the giant Pacific octopus mate are rare and they've been extremely lucky to witness it several times.

But the mating ritual also marks the end of life for the octopuses, with Clove passing away a few months after the mating ritual, while C.C. is expected to die in the coming weeks.

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  Baby giant Pacific octopuses are shown at the Vancouver Aquarium on Wed., Aug. 31, 2011. Nearly seven months after C.C., the Vancouver Aquarium's resident giant Pacific octopus, layed its eggs, close to 300 eggs hatched earlier this week. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Vancouver Aquarium - Meighan Makarchuk)