Well, here’s something you don’t see everyday. Our friends over at National Geographic report that octopuses have been discovered tip-toeing with coconut-shell halves suctioned to their undersides, then reassembling the halves and disappearing inside for protection.
Pretty amazing stuff.
Check out the full story here.
Thanks, Marilyn T.
Octopodes!
I love these guys. I saw this on the news tonight, and it’s been a buzz in offices all over the place here. I think this is just awesome!
Something about their “noses” that I just adore… They remind me of Odie from Garfield
Hahaha yesss. What a good find. I like when the octopus hides inside.
aaaahhh!!! when it takes off in the coconut half it looks like it’s in a little speedboat!! squeeee!!!
Amazing how he(she) runs with that huge shell suctioned underneath. Tip-toeing indeed!
Sarah wins the Internets for knowing the correct plural for “octopus”.
Also for not saying “bleen”.
I also saw this on the news this morning. I’ve always been aware that these are very intelligent creatures.
This story delighted me. I think cephalopods are way cool. It’s a shame they’re also so delicious.
Anyone seen the old vids of the octopi learning how to get a crab out of a closed glass jar?
Marine version of boxhab!
Heh. I think the one at the end there was going to try to cart off the camera. I guess it just wasn’t up to standards.
An African octopus or a European octopus?
They’re learning.. AH! THEY’RE LEARNING! WE’RE DOOOOOOMED!
@CathyDee: I don’t know tha-aaaaaaahhhhhhh!!
I’ve been hugged by an octopus!
OH! Who lives in a coconut under the sea…
@ CathyDee Kudos for the Monthy Python reference.
I also saw this on the news tonight, another kid of animal using tools, I love it, that puts human kind in it’s place.
Coctopuses?
That sounds RUDE!!!!
[Then let us move over here to these lovely seats in the corner lounge, that we may have a hearty and private chuckle. Ready? LOL
- Ed.]
@CathyDee – These particular octopi are from Indonesia. Octopi just might be becoming my favorite critter. I read a book called _The Orangutan and the Octopus_ which dealt with non-human animal intelligence, and I was blown away by some of the stories about these wonderful animals. Who knew?!?
It’s not a question of where he grips it… it’s a simple question of weight ratios.
Is the octopus named Patsy? (That shouldn’t be too obscure.)
Theresa: Ha-ha! That does sound a bit…not PG rated!
Tal beat me by a minute! (shakes fist)
@Tai–Yeah. The husks were probably a little too soggy for gripping–hence, the strategies used in the video. Or perhaps Indonesian coconuts come pre-halved . . .
Evolutionary, my dear Watson.
Or perhaps real horses were not available. Plus, that whole issue of drowning would be a real bummer. . . .
@ Leilani
Can you give title and author of that book please?
Wow that’s smart and about the same size of my condo!
I for one welcome our new octopus overlords.
When I read “coctopus” I must admit coconuts aren’t the first thing that come to mind!
[Hey, c'mon over into the Snickering Lounge with us. We have cocktails.
- Ed.]
…also? This is truly freaking INCREDIBLE. Octopi are scary smart.
I saw it on the news today is som freaking amazing who could knew lol
@theresa, @beccalani – hee hee i’m glad i’m not the only one who thought that
coctopus…. so. many. jokes.
can I bring my cocker spaniel to the Snickering Lounge?
[Dunno, does he usually keep his nose in his own business? - Ed.]
funny story, coctopus was my prison nickname.
Isn’t there some 007 movie called Octupu–y? Or was that the movie with that woman with the totally crazy name of Kittygalore?
[Pussy Galore was in Goldfinger, which had Sean Connery as 007; Octopussy featured Roger Moore (and was teh stoopy) - Ed.]
@Theo, as long as you keep your business out of his . . . [uncontrollable snerking]
PS You’re only young once, but you can be immature forever.
The Octopus Who Thought He Was a Crab.
007 had a lot of pussy (cat?) references it seems for some reason. hmmmmmmm.
*peers over rhinestone, cat eye glasses at James Bond*
Remember Josie and the Pussycats?! Okay. I’m done.
Going to my own corner where I’m simply snickering over the octopus attacking the camera at the end–though I’ll be joining the rest of you in the snickering lounge soon.
Cocktopus…with 8 tentacles…
I got hooked on reading octopus articles a few weeks ago (long story) and serendipitously came upon what I shall claim for my, er… shall we say “stage name,” should I ever require one.
Ready?
It’s “Wunderpus Photogenicus.”
No, really… it’s not lewd; it’s scientific nomenclature!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wunderpus_photogenicus
I’m not surprised by this at all. I remember reading an article a year or so ago about an octopus at the Santa Monica Pier zoo who would “shot” water into a light in the corner of the room where his tank was, to break the bulb and make it dark. He shorted out the whole facility and flooded several rooms. The people who ran the zoo had to have the light moved so he couldn’t pull that little stunt anymore. They are scary smart. And really interesting looking. And from I hear, really tasty!
@ pounce & Des & re: delciousness: My niece posted this link on Facebook last night, and the first thing I noticed on the YouTube page was that the top “related video” was Iron Chef preparing octopus — and I couldn’t help snickering — my bad!
Aw, no one is going to remark on the Alteril creepy-doctor informercial reference…? NO ONE? I mean, we all know that L-tryptophan is pretty amazing stuff….
AN OCTOPUS?!?!??! blehhhhccchhhh
I never comment, but I was so upset by the OCTOPUS on your website that I had to say something. I might be the only one, but I think octopi are about as far from cute as you can possibly get. With that squishy, boneless body and their flappy, bulbous heads… just thinking about it makes me shiver. I couldn’t even watch the whole video without puking everywhere. I don’t care how intelligent it is. Get it away! And send some nice fluffy kittens instead.
@octonasty: It’s a fair point you make, but I think what’s cute about this isn’t what the creature looks like (that’s for sure!), but the clever trick it’s figured out. But fear not: We have plenty of fluffy cuteness on deck.
@octonasty: that’s not its head. That’s its butt. (Not that this will probably make you feel any better-disposed towards octopuses.)
Personally, I’ve known some really charming octopuses. If you stuck a finger in her tank, this one named Bobbi would come up and pat it with her little tentacles. They’ve got clear moods and personalities, and they can be very intelligent– as intelligent as cats, according to some studies.
Plus they have suction cups, and swim by jet propulsion, and change their color and texture instantly at will, and squeeze through absurdly small spaces, and fill out complicated tax forms. Oh, and lug around coconuts, apparently.
What’s so impressive about this is that the octopus not only understands that it is vulnerable and needs protection (I suppose most animals instinctively grasp that), but that carrying shelter with it will improve its chances for feeding or whatever else it wants to do in places that might otherwise be unsafe.
This is amazing! Octopus on the half shell.
*snicker* You said ‘coctopus.’
(Most inadvertently dirty Cute Overload blog post title of all time! “This just in”? “Cocktopus”?? BWAHAHAA!)
[*snicker* You said "inadvertently".
- Ed.]
@NTMTOM – exactly. Unbelievably impressive.
I LOVE it!! What a GREAT post! Octopi are so cute and smart. *double thumbs up* What amazing footage.
I really enjoyed it. Smart lil octopod…
@ octonasty: ;____________; Go away. Leave the poor Octopods alone! They ARE cute, guldemmit. Look at those little eyes! *has been known as a person to find anything cute* Yes, bugs can be cute too! I am not cuteprejudiced against invertebrates!
….. Is it wrong that I think my tarantula, Isabel, can be cute too? Yes? :3
[Well, they are fluffy. - Ed.]
@theresa: “you’re only young once but you can be immature forever” – me in a nutshell! – i think you just gave me my new motto
and on that note: @webbie: best…name…EVER!!!!
i love how it sticks its mouth straight into the camera…it sends kisses!
suriously? You’re nuffing because you don’t like octopodes? Everyone has a different concept of cute. Yours is not the ultimate, neither is mine. Let bloggers blog what they want. You don’t have to like every single post but you also don’t have to complain.
Q: Mr. Octo, what are you doing inside that re-assembled coconut?
A: I’m… I’m… sleeping! Yes! That’s it… Oh yaaaaawn so sleepy. You go now, I must rest!
Q: (Here’s another octo, let’s ask him.) Excuse me, Mr. Octo 2, what are you doing walking about with that half a sawed coconut under you?
A: You reporters! Beat it! We’re not doing anything! We’re just octos trying to get some sleep here! Get away! Give me that camera! Mmmph! Damn paparazzo!
(Master race of armored octo overlords coming to a planet near you soon!)
Octopus are pretty intelligent. And cool and wiggly.
Octopusses are really really smart. Sneaky smart. I love it!
Cthulu wakes from his dreamless sleep…and I haven’t finished my Christmas shopping yet…sigh
This is sooo adorable. I didn’t think anything could equal the jazz hands kitten, but this
enterprising little critter has won me over.
The hovertext has thrown me into a Faye Dunaway-inspired slapfest. It’s funny Muppets, but it’s also icky Buffalo Bill! Muppets AND Buffalo Bill!
As for the URL, now, that’s just silly. (And lovely!)
I posted a vid of this on Facebook, spazzing about how they’re learning! XD
This extended video is so much better.
Octo: Ohai camera! You need a hug! <3
whoah! adult content…i think…no, I’m not sure…
It doesn’t want to lose its precious coconut shell! Such cute behavior.
Oh, nuffers.
The amazing thing about nature (and about the human world, for that matter) is that there is cuteness everywhere. Personally, I appreciate Cute Overload for not just highlighting pups and kittehs and bunnehs, but to give the slimy, scaly, and…odd critters (including hoomans!) the occasional day in the spotlight.
Octopods are super cool, and have long been a favorite of mine. They can change shape and color, they are super smart, and frankly, I think they are beautiful. The wonderpus octopus, that Webbe mentioned earlier, as well as the Blue Ring Octopus (which is also one of the most venomous critters in the world) are among the prettiest in the sea.
I was going to say that little guy(?) was one messed up hermit crab but then an infomercial came on & all I could think of was “Vince” saying :
“You’re gonna love my nuts” !
(Ahem) Any seats left over in that corner ?
[Relevant linkage added.
- Ed.]
All I need is this coconut shell. And that’s it and that’s the only thing I need, is this. I don’t need this or this. Just this coconut shell. And this other coconut shell. The first coconut shell, the other coconut shell, and that’s all I need. And I don’t need one other thing, except my dog.
Oh man, the last part of the video made me sooo hungry. All those plump, juicy suction cups… Boiled octopus is *delicious*.
He looks like ET at 0:58 onwards.
I want to see the Octopus’s garden in the shade…
Seriously, I remember reading about an aquarium in California that was flooded by one of the resident octopods. It seems they are constantly rearranging their tanks, and this particular critter pulled out a hose that it should have left alone and caused an overflow.
Oi, silly cephalopod. How’re you gonna escape from predators lugging around those coconut shells? Geeshe.
Seriously, though, this is the coolest/funniest/scariest thing I’ve seen! BWAHAHAHAHA.
(Coctopus made me snicker too. Y’all got coconut water in that lounge?)
[We got piña cocladas all up in heeeah! ... um ... yeah, and they're pretty strong too, apparently *hic*
- Ed.]
I’ll admit to being creeped out when I see an octopus (it’s the suction cuppies). They aren’t my favorite animal. However, this video was great! I was so impressed! What a smart creature.
I had to close the video, though, once it latched onto the camera and we hit full frontal cuppie flashing. *shudder*
Mooned by an octopus! (2:14)
(And yeah…I’m 12. Scooch over guys, I’m joining you in the corner lounge.)
[Whoa, gettin crowded in here. :falls over: - Ed.]
They drive coconut shells ? They turn off lights ? They open jars ? Good thing they live underwater or we’d be facing serious competishe up here.
*Wheeeee !!!! Lookit me, speeding along in my new convertible !!!*
Any creature that smart is cute in my book.
Octo-mom: “Why yes, the mailman was a hermit crab, why do you ask?”
Also, I love the envelopment of the camera part.
Wow. They´re just amazing creatures. And it´s so cute the way it runs along with the coconut shell underneath it!
Was anyone else reminded of “Kittens on a Roomba”?
Uhm, yeah, very interesting video . . . tragic title for the post though. I was almost afraid to click Play on this one. lol
They’re using coconuts! Just forgot between carried by swallows–this the real way coconuts migrate.
I am astounded by the creativity and intelligence of this guy! More octopi, please!!!
I love him/her! And I agree that octopodes are tasty but I can’t eat them anymore since I figured out I would love to have one as a pet. (If it would let me, they’re not very happy in captivity for very long)
My octopus story is from the UC Davis marine extension at Bodega Head where their octopus kept sneaking out at night to go eat critters from the other tanks. So they had to weight it down with bricks. Also, he hated anyone in tie-die so they weren’t allowed to wear it anymore.
I’ve got a lovely bunch of coconuts!
There they are all standing in a row,
Big ones, small ones, some as big as your head!
Give them a twist, a flick of the wrist!
That’s what the showman said …
No doubt this is part of his master plan to avoid becoming calamari.
The octopus is all like “This is MY fort! No humans allowed!”
god thats cute!
this didn’t remind anyone else of the fred flintstone car?!? self propulsion is aborbidle!!
Dear CO,
Kindly do not feature posts about how smart octopi are. I wrote a cute kiddie song about them and how they will protect us if we frolic in thier domain. Now you show how they are cleverly building weapons of mass destruction (the dolphins are just in it for the fish, the octos, however, want world domination). Please desist bringing this information to the public as I need to continue to perform this in my tour.
Cordially,
Ringo Starr
That is so very cute, and smart!
Merriam-Webster says this about octopus.
@Nana (#23): Good one!
Fascinating critters! Incredibly smart!
I love the way the guy at the end says “No pictures! No pictures!”
Privacy shell?
I like the ending with the cute suction cups trying to take the camera.
here’s a link for the book mentioned above, The Octopus and the Orangutan. http://www.amazon.com/Octopus-Orangutan-Intrigue-Intelligence-Ingenuity/dp/0452284112/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260974101&sr=1-1
Looks like a good Christmas present for myself
and another book for my animal book collection!
In his house at Half”coco the great Cthulhu waits dreaming… of the other half of the coconut?
How is this cute? Yes it is amazing, but cute? No. This is fricking scary.
I don’t think I’m gonna be able to eat Octopus after this.
[With any luck, they'll feel the same about you.
- Ed.]
Ellen W: I’m totally with that octopus on the tie-dye. Frightful fashion statement, as any intelligent critter knows.
I think that kitten from yesterday (Taunt-O) must’ve had seen the video and was trying to emulate the coctopus. (awesome name)
@Margie (#66) BWAHAHAHAHAHA
Amazing and potentially scary. Think about it–if they evolve any more, they could have 8 opposable thumbs…we’re doomed!
My brother told me a tale about an octopus he saw in Italy during college. He was walking past a fish market that had a tank of live small octopodes. He watched as one flopped itself out of the tank and “ran” down the sidewalk to get away. He thought it was fantastic
It was a coastal town in the marina area, so hopefully it got away!
Yknow what I like even more than this octopus using a coconut?
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1974795/the_incredible_walking_octopus/
This octopus actually pretending to _be_ an octopus. And seaweed!
They’re walking on two tentacle tips like FEET!
I <3 octopodes!
I remember that documentary about the octopus who watched his friend get the crab out of the beaker. They are smart but apparently they’re not consistent like squid and tend to have smart and dumb days.
Someone on the i09 board mentioned how they found rat bones in one of the octopus tanks in college. Apparently they had caught cockroaches and had used them as “bait” for the rats. Would be a fun senior project to document and publish that.
Oh great, I can never eat calimari again.
Who lives in a coconut under the sea? SpongeBob CocoPants!
you know what this means….in 10 years we will be fighting for world domination against an unstoppable army of octupi…
I can’t wait to see the manga version.
I just spent the better part of my morning viewing octopus vids on YouTube. Those guys are scary smart!!
off topic… OMG the hovertext in today’s xkcd is about maru! worlds colliding! aaaahhhh!
animals are cool.
@Alice T & Rachael: How awesome is that?!! “This bipedal behavior allows them to get away and remain cryptic” – how unbelievably fastinating they are.
“Coctopus” – my oh my oh my [shaking head]! I see the snickering lounge is full, guess I’ll have to watch some more vids until there’s room. Is it Friday already – did I miss something?
@Cashew: Thank you! I check xkcd when it’s updated on M/W/F, but I never knew it had hovertext! I assumed today’s reference was to CO, but the hovertext makes it official. Yay!!
I can haz a fort?
Didn’t you peeps see 2012???? It clearly denotes the END OF THE WORLD!!!
The Octopus is building an ark. Oh wait, he doesn’t need one.
This is absolutely amazing!!!
I, of course, had to send it to my husband, who is also amazed by things in nature and also has the maturity of a 12 year old. He’ll be joining you in the lounge here shortly…
One of my all-time favorite Jaccque Cousteau episodes was “Octopus Octopus”, which includes the priceless video of an octopus figuring out how to open a glass jar to obtain the yummy live lobster. This isn’t quite as great but it’s still great video.
I must confess confusion. I thought that the whole point to being an octopus is that they are molluscks who have given up their shell for the advantages of mobility. And now they are scrounging up their own shells?
I want to go down there and offer them coconut shells that have been attractively decorated. Perhaps with carvings of European and African swallows.
This is just way, WAY cool.
P.S. Calamari is squid, not octopus, so until they show us a video of squid being clever/cute, technically speaking you can still eat it.
Kristabelle, congrats on having a husband with the maturity of a 12 year old. I’ve come to the conclusion that most males max out at 8 years old, at least where farts burps and things that make you snicker are concerned. Once I figured that out it made buying presents for my brother the rocket scientist infinitely easier.
@ Ed. : You Found my FAVORITE rap song !!! You SOOOO Rock !
(But you know that don’t you !)
You put the OCTO in the coconut (but I wouldn’t drink it all up !)
I say, Doctor!!!!!!!!
After admiring the beautiful octopuses (octopi, octopodes, octopodia) and seconding/thirding/fourthing/whatever the comments about how smart they are. I was going to head over to the snickering lounge, too, but pugletsrule has informed me it’s full.
Puglets, let’s just wait until a few more of them fall off their chairs. Shouldn’t take long. Or… maybe I’ll just go sit on the floor, ‘cos after a few Bikini Martinis, that’s a safer place to be, anyways. A toast to our new, 8-legged overlords!
I always wanted to live in Muppet World…still do
Octo is all “not fair. I want a shell! I want to be cozy like a clam.”
Ph’nglui mglw’nfah Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn!
@Nana – Here’s the info: The Octopus and the Orangutan: More True Tales of Animal Intrigue, Intelligence, and Ingenuity (Paperback) ~ Eugene Linden. You can get it from Amazon. He also has stories about elephants that are amazing.
There is ALWAYS room for more in the Snickering Lounge– especially if you have NO BONES.
Coconuts DO migrate!
There’s a story about an aquarium that was losing a lot of rare, valuable fish. Every day some would disappear. Finally, those in charge took a video. An octopus was climbing out of its tank, crawling across to the tank with the valuable fish, helping itself to a late night snack, and then crawling back.
Janet: There’s another story about an octopus who was put in a tank with sharks. The managers of the aquarium were pretty sure the octopus could protect itself; they were surprised, however, when the octopus started ambushing and killing the sharks.
All these stories about octopuses wandering around outside of the water make wonder, can they breathe air, or what is the deal here?
make me wonder
Do we breathe water when we swim?
OK, good point, Mr. Smartypants. I give.
This was on BBC a couple of days ago and then POOF it’s all ovah! I love the Aussie’s expression, when he saw it, he was “gobsmacked”!
Smart days and dumb days! LOL just like the rest of us!
Boxhab indeed! And “that’s me in a nutshell” haw haw!
Whut eez dees? A camera? feel-feel-feel ~ see how curious he is! Another sign of intelligence.
(you’ve got two empty halves of coconut and you’re bangin em togethah!)
You know, it’s the squids that freak me out. They are aggressive and unpredictable. I’ve seen footage of divers ~ on animal planet or some such~ they were photographing them, and they were ambushed by several large fellahs. They grabbed the diver and forced him down, down in the deep water. They were very strong apparently. That’s scary! Squids are the ones that flash and change colors, I’m not sure about the octopi. These ones in particular seemed pretty pissed off.
i’m with skippymom – how do they survive both in water and on land?
LOL … (spies camera) … hey, now THAT i can USE ! (attempts to swipe)
I think the octopus / coconut combination is inspired, but certainly not new:
http://www.airseychelles.com/creole/OctopusCari.html
(staggers off to the snickering lounge…)
Cheers, 128. At last the mechanics of the wonder of nature has been explained.
OMG – I always thought these guys were cool in a squishy almost cute at the right angle sort of way. I saw a documentary about them once where they talked about how intelligent they were and I was like “yeah….riiiight”. I stand corrected. Totally cool and thank you for posting this.
I love watching it “walk” across the ocean floor, and how at the end he’s all “OM NOM CAMERA NOM.”
How smart! He is adorable…. there’s so much we don’t know about the animal world.
anyone else expect to hear them clomping the coconuts together like in monty python, or is it just me?
@Poohbear
I can totally imagine him/her making car noises too!
*VVVVVROOOOOOOM!*
*Beep Beep!*
You give an octopus a perfectly good coconut and all he does is play with the container it came in!
Colonel Jenna, that was my thought precisely. They go to all that evolutionary effort to get rid of their shells, and I guess now they are rethinking that strategy! A place to hide can be a good thing.
Me too, I totally snickered when I read the headline.
I guess I’m the only one that at about :20 I think, it looked exactly to me like an girl in about the 50′s with the big round skirt and fluffy petticoat, she picks up the skirt and scampers off .. that’s what it looked like to me, anyway. Maybe I’m the only one here old enough to have that picture in my mind. I also loved all the flickering arm-tips fluffing up the sand. But the best was the camera attack at the end. “Come into my parlor Mr. Camera Man!” .. “no?”.. “bummer ” .. Great vid. thank you!! (headed for the lounge, if they’ll have me. I’ll buy a round for anyone who remembers the 50′s)
I DIDN’T KNOW THEY COULD WALK!!!
Coctopus? Is that anything like a sextapus?
I can just hear the octopus saying; ” I am trying to hide from the this fool with the camera!”. cute octoguy!
No bones about it, I’m going to the Snickering Lounge to cool off. May I please have a virgin Pina Colada? And one for each of my many-tentacled-friend here, thanks.
For true love’s a many-tentacled THING! (Big closing crashing chords of lust!)
No, I don’t believe I can eat them now that I know how intelligent they are. No, I don’t. And Pauchie- the divers were trying to catch and eat the squid-isn’t that survival instinct? Ewwwwww.
I want to know how he cut the coconut in half!
[Dive knife. Only way to do it right. And those suckers can handle 8 at once. - Ed.]
Is he teeny tiny, or is the coconut shell huge?
THIS WAS A MISSION FROM MYSTERY GOOGLE. I LIKE THIS VID THOUGH ESPECIALLY THE END WHERE HES CLIMBING ON IT LOL.
No Katrina, they wuz only takin’ pictures of the squidz.
Anyway, does a coctopus have eight, er, nebbermind!
I just came here to say “cocktopus”.
You can do THAT over in the Snickering Lounge, you cheeky whippersnapper. Razzum frazzum.
I now have ‘Octopus’s Garden’ by the Beatles in my head. Perhaps Ringo was onto something!
And since it’s late, I imagine the snickering lounge is empty, so I’ll just help myself to the beer nuts. Heheh, I said “nuts”.
Well, the hovertext beat me to my first comment.
Then pounce beat me to my second.
*shakes fist*
I saw something like this on one of those PBS nature shows. It was pretty cute. The divers spotted a little octopus pulling along a glass bottle it was using for protection. They put down another for it. And the little thing went over to investigate it, but decided it liked the one it already had better lol.
Love octopuses!
I’m happy to find I’m not the only CO-er with her mind in the gutter….. [heads back to the Snickering Lounge]
Skipping over most of the comments to ask, Is there room for one more in the Snickering Lounge?
URL and Python comments=win.
Coctopus=*snickerfacepalm* which is also a kind of win, I guess
Where does an octopus find a perfectly halved coconut?
“mine”
am i the only one who thought “look! it thinks it’s turtle!!!”
I agree fully with all the intelligent octo comments, hence why I adore these animals.
For a second I thought cocopus would be more appropriate but maybe those two words are a match made in hilarity. [Precisamente. - Ed.]
I’ve always known that the little guys were smart and liked to hide in things, I think it’s funny that everyone’s making such a big deal out of it. When I followed the link and read about the dolphins, THAT surprised me.
Very cute video though.
Smart little squirts!
An octopus.. is tip-toeing.
It has no feet. It’s tip-toeing. Without toes.
This site always messes my mind.
here’s my thought: not just hiding inside for protection, but to JUMP OUT AND SCARE PEOPLE/PREY/OTHER OCTOPUSES!! ha! scared ya! ha… gonna go over there and do it again…
a-maze-ing!!!!
Octopus: HA…lets see what those clever clams have to say now!!!
Boogity boogity boogity boogity boogity *hide hide hide*
=peep around= OK GO
Boogity boogity boogity boogity boogity
I totally heard a tap-dance routine as he (she?) skittered across the sea floor…
heheh – Theo said “whippersnapper.”
Wow! That thing is fast!! Also wondering just how big ?little? the octopus is?
And I love the camera snorgle at the end.
HAHAHAHHA, in the end, he tries to steal the camera! Don’t trust “them” octopuses!
This is truly brilliant — both the animal and the footage.
Thank you very much indeed for posting this.’
I love when he gives up and attacks the camera!
so, swallows don’t carry coconuts to Mercia, Octopi do!
We are all well aware, of the perils of the Pathetic Fallacy. Yet some deep chord is struck, and resonates between Man and Mollusc. It is impossible not to sense and empathize, what might be passing through this fellow’s squishy little head.
The behavior is not instrumental merely. It is too wild, too playful, too….gratuitous. Too much like the Walrus and the Bucket.
Lil fella thinkin…. Kewl I gots my…*coconut*….got m’coconut right here… Whoops! Think I’ll just — scuttle on over to *that* place, crawl inside m’coconut.. O yes That’s it…Nobody can’t see me now…
Oh-oh, time to hurry on over to *another* place, yeh better, better just bring m’coconut, got m’very own coconut right here….
And who knows but what his humble cousin, the Clam, may not, like the hedgehog, know One Big Thing. Only, …. it takes him …. a long time … to
…. …. ……… ……… …………. ………………….. think it …
“squishy little head” <—
i love the video of the octopuss!!!!
it is so cool.
Once again proving why octopi are my favorite animals !
WE’RE ALL DOOMED! IT’S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE THE OCTOPUSARMIES COME FOR US!!!
woah, sorry about that. Don’t know what came over me…
[Tentacles, perhaps? - Ed.]
Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn!
At first, during the tippytoeing, I was hypothesizin’, ‘yeah, okay, this is intelligent.’ Like in Apocalypse Now in the helicopter where they sit on their helmets so their, um, privates (pun!) don’t get shot off. ‘But why such fear of the sandy ocean floor?’ I guessed that this must be a very particular octo that had a bad encounter with a stingray. But then hey, why not just swim higher up, out of stingray range (they only sting when trod on), w/o dragging a coconut shell around and decreasing his speed and maneuverability by like 99.8%? (A hemispheric shell is very high-drag, like a parachute!) But THEN, the hiding inside the PAIR of shells made it all clear. He was carrying TWO shell HALVES, and the shells are not PROTECTING him during tippytoeing. It’s just that the “tippytoeing” grip and walk technique is the ONLY way he can TAKE the shells WITH him anywhere.
Now I want to know, does he sometimes set the shells down and stray a little ways to hunt, and then return to the shells to sleep?
Of course we know where he GETS the shells – in ‘is Octopus’s (coconut) Garden, in the shade.
[EPIC COMMENT IS EPIC
- Ed.]
I was pleasantly surprised to find this on here! I have actually owned a few octos, and they have been my all time favorite pet ever since. The Bimac (species) octo I had was a very personable guy, having water shooting fights with me, lounging in his duplo lego castle, and even coming up for a pat on the head if you splashed the top of the water. It was really awesome to have him and feel the weird sensation of octo arms on you. the suction cups are oddly dry feeling, and you can really feel the strong muscles they have. He had a real talent for disappearing in his tank with camoflauge, with me often being the only one who could find him. Also, the using tools for protection isn’t that new, mine had a whole collection of shells that he’d surround himself with when he slept. The other two I had were a different species and nocturnal, not nearly as interesting. I loved my Schlemm though, he was quite the entertainer. Oh! He also watched television, and would get visibly excited when Dr. Phil or Family Guy came on, not sure why…
LMAO @ Margie 12.15.09 at 11:25 pm
Octopuses are so smart! If you enjoyed this, read about the Mimic Octopus that changes shape to look like other creatures of the sea.
Too many comments to read all, so hope this isn’t redundant. Wouldn’t a great name for these be Octonuts? Because they sure are unusual. I loved seeing this — thanks.
Godoctopus!
These octopuses are too smart. I don’t trust them. Soon they’re going to be stealing our kids’ jobs.