Akron Zoo octopus chooses Cora to be her name

AKRON, Ohio - Not many get to choose their own name but an octopus at the Akron Zoo did just that Monday morning.

A new giant Pacific octopus at the zoo will be named Cora, after selecting the wiffleball with Cora written on it from a jar. Each of the three different names submitted by the public were written on wiffleballs filled with shrimp.

The octopus was choosing between Cora, Octavia and Scarlet. Octavia was the most-submitted name but the octopus will go by Cora, a shortened version of coral, a habitat for octopus.

People who submitted Cora as the name of the octopus will be entered in a drawing to win an octopus prize pack and behind the scenes tour of zoo’s new Journey to the Reef exhibit, Director of Marketing and Guest Services David Barnhardt said.

The zoo received more than 2,200 name entries from around the United States and Canada.

Cora weighs about 20 pounds and is about four feet long from the top of hear to the end of her arms.

You can visit her at The Akron Zoo between 10 a.m. - 5 p.m, 361 days a year.

For more information, you can visit http://www.akronzoo.org or call (330) 375-2550.