A GIANT male octopus caught on cell phone video scaling his glass display tank at the Seattle Aquarium in the U.S. 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 said 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.

    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.(SD-Agencies)