Octopuses

Discussion in 'Pets and Animals' started by Smiling_Rose, Jul 15, 2004.

  1. Smiling_Rose

    Smiling_Rose Member

    Messages:
    176
    Likes Received:
    0
    Dunno if I spelt that right.. anyway... I've always known they're meant to be pretty intelligent, but I visited this aquarium place the other day, and they had this massive one, a female, and it was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.
    I was lucky enough to be there at feeding time, and they're such intelligent animals they have to be given different activitys so they don't get bored. So they fed her using a live crab in a screw-top jar. She took the jar, held it in her head-type-thing then un-screwed the lid with a few of her tenticles. She played around with the lid a bit, then held it with one of her tenticles while the other seven fished out the crab then played around with the empty jar. It was mind-boogling to watch this alien-like animal take such joy in such a complex task. They're now training her to unlock a small box with a key... i couldn't imagen a dog managing that!
    The woman feeding her told us a story from another aquarium; the octupus was in one tank, and in the same room was a tank of fish. When the fish kept dissapearing they decided to set up a camera over night. It turned out the octupus was climbing out it's tank every night, traveling across the room, climbing in the other tank and eating the fish, then returning to it's own tank so it didn't get caught!
    Just thought I'd share this animal with everyone, they don't get enough credit... forget dolphins; octupuses have got to be the best animal from our oceans!
     
  2. feministhippy

    feministhippy Member

    Messages:
    993
    Likes Received:
    1
    Octopi are quite fascinating, yes. They are really neat looking, and their behavior fascinates me.
     
  3. metro

    metro self-banned

    Messages:
    856
    Likes Received:
    0
    There are tons of fascinating creatures in the oceans. We don't even know much about most of them, it's a largely unknown realm. I love visiting aquariums. Have you ever seen sea dragons? Amazing!
     
  4. Smiling_Rose

    Smiling_Rose Member

    Messages:
    176
    Likes Received:
    0
    I've seen sea horses... not dragons :s
     
  5. Alexandria

    Alexandria Member

    Messages:
    407
    Likes Received:
    0
    You know I watched a show on the discovery channel once about a man who was doing a study with cuddle fish. Cuddle fish look somewhat like squid I guess and they live very far beneth the ocean's surface. They have these pigments in their skin that they can change, light to dark, and they do it to distract their pray, almost hypnotiesing (sp?) them into standing still so they can be caught. Well, this guy did a study about their intelligence and what he did was show them different letters of the alphabet before he fed them and eventually when it came to be feeding time the fish would actually make the letter of the alphabet appear in its pigment. It was so cool, I had no idea that fish could be so smart. Cuddle fish are very interesting animals.
     
  6. FreakyJoeMan

    FreakyJoeMan 100% Batshit Insane

    Messages:
    3,431
    Likes Received:
    0
    From what I've see, cuttlefish can also change their skin in another way. They can go from smooth to lookin like a big pile o rocks. Yeah, and octopi's brains fill up that big head thing they have, so yeah, they're pretty damn smart fer invertibrates
     
  7. Smiling_Rose

    Smiling_Rose Member

    Messages:
    176
    Likes Received:
    0
    do you know why they named them cuddle fish? it'd be cool to have a fish that u could cuddle.. a lap fish or sommat...
     
  8. Alexandria

    Alexandria Member

    Messages:
    407
    Likes Received:
    0
    lol. No, I have no idea why they named them that. Personally, I wouldnt want to cuddle with a fish:D
     
  9. Tamee

    Tamee naked

    Messages:
    1,651
    Likes Received:
    11
    I'd like to free all the octopus from aquariums.
     
  10. FreakyJoeMan

    FreakyJoeMan 100% Batshit Insane

    Messages:
    3,431
    Likes Received:
    0
    Naw, bein in there gives em free time to plot the destruction of the human race!
     
  11. vinceneilsgirl

    vinceneilsgirl Member

    Messages:
    804
    Likes Received:
    5
    Me too. And LOL to FreakyJoeMan
     
  12. Cosmic Butterfly

    Cosmic Butterfly Member

    Messages:
    846
    Likes Received:
    1
    Octopuses are really beautiful. Did you know that after a female mates she takes care of the eggs so good that she exhausts herself to death. It is so beautiful, and sad at the same time. Nature is beautiful.


    I wish she were free too.
     
  13. scarlettchasingroses

    scarlettchasingroses strawberry tart

    Messages:
    8,291
    Likes Received:
    4
  14. turtlefriend

    turtlefriend Member

    Messages:
    546
    Likes Received:
    5
    Did you know the eye placement of octopi is the most similar to the eye placement of humans out of all the other animals?


    I work at a non profit rescue/rehab/education aquarium in Florida. I was out on the boat with the kid's snorkeling camp when an intern found a small octopus. She asked me to hold it so she could get a picture. The octupus slid across my cupped hands; I had to keep moving my hand around to keep it from sliding off. It was really cool to hold; like holding eight snakes slithering in unision.

    Then it bit me. Octopi have a beak, and some venom to boot. My hand was swollen, and it hurt like hell - sort of a numb/sore type of pain. It's hard to describe. I still respect them though - as insular as it sounds, it amazes me how such an alien creature can be so intelligent.
     
  15. Sunburst

    Sunburst Fairy

    Messages:
    1,909
    Likes Received:
    10
    That's friggin amazing! Wow:D

    And I have no clue why they're called CuttleFish, but they're scary and sting/bite you liek a jellyfish and can s=cause serious harm:plol
     
  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice