Oh, you laugh now, but it won't be so funny when that thing's crawling up the Space Needle and swatting down airplanes!

Octopus, "Freeeeeeeeeeedoooooooommm !"

I don't like this at all and I feel bad for the octopus.

They are very intelligent creatures, and I hate seeing any kind of intelligent creature being subjected to cruel and unusual punishment and deprived of freedom, especially as their normal way of life foreseeably for the rest of their life.

Normally I don't feel terrible for most animals in this type of situation.. They usually have a good amount of space, free food, and don't have to worry about predators.

This, however, looks like they're keeping that octopus in an incredibly small space

It'd be like keeping a porcupine at the zoo in a shoebox.

"Hey kid, pull my tentacle..."

The local marine science center had an octopus who would escape all the time. They also had touch tanks for other creatures which I think they eventually got rid of, for ethical reasons.

I don't know if they still have the octopus.

From teh Interwebs in case you're thinking the octopus is being abused:

SEATTLE (Reuters) - A giant male octopus caught on cell phone video scaling his glass display tank at the Seattle Aquarium and reaching several tentacles over its open top has sparked Internet speculation that the massive mollusk was trying to mount an escape bid.

But aquarium officials say the octopus, named Ink, was not attempting a jailbreak in the video, which has gone viral on the Internet, but simply learning to embrace his new home with all eight arms.

"It was not an escape attempt," aquarium spokesman Tim Kuniholm said of the video, in which Ink inched his way up the cylindrical glass tank to squeals from onlookers. "It's a new exhibit and the animal was exploring his boundaries."

A Seattle aquarium employee later put Ink's arms back inside the case, and a so-called "evening cap" was fastened on top to help keep the curious fellow in place, Kuniholm said.

"Octopuses are very inquisitive by nature, and in this case ... Ink is an overachiever," he said.

Ink is one of two new giant Pacific octopuses on display at the aquarium. Found in Puget Sound, they are the world's largest species of octopuses, weighing on average about 90 pounds (41 kg) and measuring 20 feet (6.1 meters) across.

Kuniholm said the two male octopuses are kept in separate homes at the aquarium because the species is solitary by nature, with males and females coming together only to mate during their short 3-to-4-year lifespan.

In the next year, Ink will be released back into the wild as part of an ongoing education and conservation program for the species, the aquarium said.

(Reporting by Victoria Cavaliere; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Sandra Maler)