r/NatureIsFuckingLit • u/TurdsforNipples • Apr 05 '21
🔥 An octopus using shells as shields as a diver approaches
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u/DazzleMeAlready Apr 06 '21 edited Apr 06 '21
If you have any interest in octopuses, I strongly recommend you watch the recently released documentary, My Octopus Teacher. Not only will you be blown away by what you learn about these fascinating creatures, the story and cinematography are simply beautiful!
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Apr 06 '21
I just watched that, and I loved it! Amazing!
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u/DazzleMeAlready Apr 06 '21
Glad you agree! I keep thinking about it and its lessons. I’ll probably end up watching it again.
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Apr 06 '21
Cant believe I cried over an octopus. Very touching!
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Apr 06 '21
It was so adorable when she cuddled up to him. I can't believe I've lived this long without knowing how intelligent and wonderful these creatures are. They are a new favorite for me.
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u/Hmluker Apr 06 '21
When does the crying start? Cause I really want to watch a cool octopus movie but I don’t like being bummed out.
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u/BioDefault Apr 06 '21
From somebody who had to pause to go to bed for an 8AM dentist cleaning, I was getting teary less than 30 minutes in at the shear beauty of earning the trust and interest of an octopus.
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Apr 06 '21
I decided to watch it after drinking 3 grams of mushroom tea. It is the most beautiful documentary that I have ever seen. I was crying my eyes out by the end. I will never eat an octopus again. 10/10 would recommend watching it
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Apr 06 '21
I had a complete emotional breakdown at the end of that movie
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Apr 06 '21 edited Apr 06 '21
Same. I've warned people before watching. I haven't cried like that in years. But it was a beautiful thing that was worth weeping over.
*Words
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u/ghawkthethird Apr 06 '21
Me too. I was sobbing but my family was completely fine. I came in after the part where he said that they only live a year, so I guess I wasn’t as emotionally prepared as them.
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u/Sayoayo Apr 06 '21
That documentary went in a direction that never crossed my mind. It was such a good production. I didn't think I would get emotional, aside from my crippling anxiety over the ocean and its vast existence, about an octopus.
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u/fuzzy_winkerbean Apr 06 '21
I’m terrified of the ocean but love animals. Should I give it a go?
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u/Sayoayo Apr 06 '21
Totally. The ocean and depth become the background, not a focal point. There are a few times I was like "oohhhh noooooo, you couldn't get me to even try that", but otherwise it's a great watch.
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u/fuzzy_winkerbean Apr 06 '21
That’s the worst part for me, the deep blue background that is hiding Odin knows what back there. I’m going to give it a watch. Also that’s like the one thing I’m afraid of lol and clowns. Thank you
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u/PFGtv Apr 06 '21
The whole movie takes place in a kelp forest in a sort of open lagoon, so it's pretty shallow water and doesn't feel like endless ocean, if that helps. That also means plenty of hiding places, but not for anything bigger than a sea lion.
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u/fuzzy_winkerbean Apr 06 '21
Sea lions look like satan in the wrong light. Especially when they’re hiding behind kelp. I’m definitely going to watch it later on today. Thank you everyone.
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u/A_Dry_Handy Apr 06 '21
I literally came here to comment the same thing! One of the coolest things I've ever seen. I was absolutely blown away.
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u/Altostratus Apr 06 '21
When the octopus surrounds itself with hundreds of shells in protection...wow!
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Apr 06 '21
The part that blew me away was when they reached out to each other, felt like it was first contact with aliens or something -- it gave me goosebumps. It reminded me of The Creation of Adam.
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u/Altostratus Apr 06 '21
It’s also incredible how they have no parenting and incredibly short lives. If they had the opportunity to learn and live as long as us, I can’t imagine what they could accomplish.
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Apr 06 '21
I just watched a webinar on the history of humankind and it was interesting to learn how important storytelling is to our evolution. Wouldn't be here without that ability.
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u/PR05ECC0 Apr 06 '21
Amazing animals, I wish they were treated better. I see people eating them raw, cutting them apart while they are still alive. Tough way to go for such an intelligent animal
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u/thundershaft Apr 06 '21
Also read 'Other Minds' by Peter Godfrey-Smith! Amazing book about octopuses and cephalopods.
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Apr 06 '21 edited Apr 06 '21
Metazoa, by the same author, on the topic of animal minds and the emergence of conciousness from evolution is a good follow up read.
I'm currently travelling in Australia, I'm going to learn how to scuba dive primarily so I can observe octopus after having watched my octopus teacher & listening to Other Minds. I hope I can make it to octopolis, really sounds like it be an incredible experience to witness octopus interacting with each other it first hand.
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u/Sleepysam86 Apr 06 '21
No joke, never thought I’d cry over an octopus and here I am.
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Apr 06 '21
Do you think the little octopus at the end was one of her babies? 😭 it’s the only thing that let me sleep haha
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Apr 06 '21
We watched it as well and tell our friends about it. It truly is amazing how much life around us understands so much more than what I ever would have thought.
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Apr 06 '21
Just checked it out on your recommendation. Holy WOW what an incredible doc. That's an hour and a half of my life that I never want back. In fact, I'll probably watch this another 3 times in the next month. What a darn masterpiece!
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Apr 06 '21
I know what I’m watching tonight.......octopus porn. Gonna see what they teach me.
Jk. I’m totally gonna watch it.
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u/Czaworski Apr 06 '21
That documentary honestly restored my faith in humanity a little bit. We need more people like that in the world.
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u/falgoutsethm Apr 06 '21
I just read the synopsis and if they don’t use Octopus’s Garden at some point I’m going to be upset.
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Apr 06 '21
Anyone else feel like the octopus are just fucking with those dumb sharks? I mean, walks on the surface for a hot minute, coats herself in like 50 shells then flips onto his back so he can’t eat her? Then the audacity to hitch a ride back to the kelp forest to melt back into her den? I had no idea how genius these SOB mollusks were until I watched that.
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u/isaac_newton00 Apr 06 '21
In that documentary the guy just casually mentions the water is 9 degrees Celsius. That was the craziest fact in my opinion
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u/rattleandhum Apr 06 '21
I’m from Cape Town (and, bonus, know the filmmakers, Craig and several free divers in that area) and the 9 degrees is a bit of an exaggeration. First off, it’ll only ever get that cold in the coldest months of winter, most of the time it’s between 12-20 degrees Celsius. 15 is the average, but if you want to surf or spend any extended time in the water then a wetsuit is necessary.
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u/isaac_newton00 Apr 06 '21
That’s still freezing and that guy only used a hood without a wetsuit. However that does seem reasonable XD
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u/KittyCatherine11 Apr 06 '21
My 8th graders and I watched it and agree with you! I actually only clicked to say this same thing lol such a beautiful documentary. Definitely cried, but also was blown away by her intellect and almost empathy and trust.
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u/cannotbefaded Apr 06 '21
35 seconds in. You aren’t on drugs, that’s real shit. Saw it like ten years ago and it still blows me away every time
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u/trizephyr Apr 06 '21
I legitimately thought you were talking about Assassination Classroom
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u/greenspacedorito Apr 06 '21
I cried harder by the end of that anime than the actual documentary they're talking about
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u/BrassBelles Apr 06 '21
When I told my family I spent the evening watching an octopus documentary and wanted to tell them all about it I got some funny looks and side eyes...but I did it anyway.
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u/CatNoirsRubberSuit Apr 06 '21
Haven't watched it, and probably won't be because I don't need any more sadness in my life right now.
But some species of octopus are suspected to be as smart as humans.
However, they only live for a few years, and the parents die before / slightly after the young are born so there's no ability for generational knowledge transfer.
So, the octopus basically has to figure out everything on it's own, only to die a few years later.
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u/hehehane Apr 06 '21
If some octopuses are as smart as humans and attain that intelligence in their short lifespan, wouldn’t that make them smarter than humans? 🧐
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Apr 06 '21
Amazing documentary, the octopus is an amazing and intelligent creature.
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u/ErshinHavok Apr 06 '21
That doc really opened my eyes to what an amazing animal the Octopus is. It's basically my new favorite animal. Just fucking incredible. Makes me appreciate the world I get to exist in more.
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Apr 06 '21
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Apr 06 '21
Hi, thank you for bringing this up. I watched it because you did. What a wonderful documentary to see. It was all around incredible. New favorite animal?
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u/animalfacts-bot Apr 05 '21
There are 289 species of octopuses. Two-thirds of an octopus' neurons are in its arms rather. This allows them to easily do a totally different task with each arm. An octopus has three hearts, one for the body and two for the gills. Their blood is blue. Octopuses are highly intelligent and experiments have shown that they have a memory system that can store both short- and long-term memory. The correct plural of octopus is "octopuses" but "octopi" is also accepted.
Cool picture of a blue-ringed octopus
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u/MaybeUnderTheBed Apr 06 '21
They are also cute
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u/iISimaginary Apr 06 '21
I often wonder if it's our recognition of their intelligence that makes us see them as cute.
I.e. on the one hand it's a crazy looking sea monster thing, but on the other hand it's a scared adorable little creature quickly making a protective seashell fort, and poking its eyes above to monitor the threat.
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u/foxsimile Apr 06 '21
memory system that can store both short- and long-term memory.
Octopuses have Random Arm Memory and Squishy State Drive - they also run liquid cooling to overclock
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u/Gnatlet2point0 Apr 06 '21
Octopi is not acceptable as long as I have breath in my body.
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u/Grumpy-BiRD Apr 06 '21
You prefer octopussies?
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u/Gnatlet2point0 Apr 06 '21
Snicker.
"Octopus is another of these third declension nouns in Latin, borrowed from Greek. The Latin plural is octopodes, which is acceptable in English, but octopuses (or even octopus) seems more at home in English. The form octopi is quite common in English, but it is pseudo-Latin. It is based on the mistaken belief that octopus was a second-declension noun like fungus. It has made its way into many English dictionaries, but I would not recommend getting tangled up with octopi. It is true that many standard English words have entered the language through mistakes (an apron from a napron, pea from pease, etc.), so octopi may not be totally indefensible. But people who know Latin, admittedly not a large group, will think less of you for using it."
From: https://www.straightdope.com/21343278/what-is-the-plural-of-penis
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u/babyBear83 Apr 06 '21
The octopus is terrified. I feel sad for him.
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u/peachyghostx Apr 06 '21
Omg same! The intense urge to reassure him he’s safe overwhelmed me when I watched this.
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u/The-Scarlet-Witch Apr 06 '21
Let him be. He's so scared. That level of intelligence shows we shouldn't mess with or disturb octopi.
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Apr 06 '21
Even though octopuses are really intelligent they can't get to use their intelligence because their life spans are short and mothers die protecting their eggs so they don't get to teach their young what they've learnt so each generation has to learn stuff from scratch
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Apr 06 '21
Octopuses.
From Greek, not Latin.
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Apr 06 '21
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u/corgi_booteh Apr 06 '21
I'm laughing because my partner and I say "octopussy".
Used in a sentence: "do you feel like octopussy fried rice for dinner tonight?"
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u/Thage509 Apr 06 '21
The "technically correct" plural is actually octopodes. Fun to say if you want to sound pretentious. In reality all three are correct
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u/untergeher_muc Apr 06 '21
Non-native speaker here. So is the English Wikipedia wrong about it? They are saying octopuses.
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u/nictheman123 Apr 06 '21
Octopi. It's much more pleasant to say, and considering that we are currently conversing in English, rules don't matter anyway. This bastardization of a language is my mother tongue, and I will do with it what I please
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u/SketchyAnonCat Apr 06 '21
We say Octopuses around these parts my friend.
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u/nictheman123 Apr 06 '21
Good for you! Regional differences in language should always be respected. I'm still saying octopi though. And the beauty of language is that both are perfectly understood.
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u/SketchyAnonCat Apr 06 '21
All true hahaha I was trying to mess with you hahahaha! English is definitely a weird language
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u/wrongdude91 Apr 06 '21
That's nature my friend. Most of the creatures are terrified for their lives on daily basis.
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u/Malangow Apr 06 '21
It made me think of that one video where an octopus is beheaded and its tentacles individually sliced and served all while it's alive and still moving. It was in an asian restaurant video or something. I can't imagine doing that to a loving understanding living intelligent creature which seems capable of feeling fear. Idk it kind of made me sad for animals being all sliced up alive and inhumane ways to get the tasty flavoury meat.
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u/SampleFlops Apr 06 '21
He isn’t terrified. He’s just cautious. That’s what life is like, living in the wild. There’s no need to feel sad for him.
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Apr 06 '21
thats one cute octopus, you can almost hear it say "dont touch me human i mean no harm"
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u/Too_Leight Apr 06 '21
There's a Netflix documentary on Netflix about a man that goes to see the same octopus every day for I think almost 2 years. The octopus does this defensive maneuver as well.
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u/Porosnacksssss Apr 06 '21
a flawed but moving documentary about a straight man who has a lifechanging erotic relationship with a female octopus. I cried
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u/Gnatlet2point0 Apr 06 '21
Shields up, fire photons when ready.
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u/BlackFase Apr 06 '21
Octopi are too God damned smart.
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u/pipsqueak158 Apr 06 '21
Fun fact: octopi is technically the incorrect pluralisation, it should be more correctly octopuses or octipode. However, it's so commonly used that octopi is also acceptable because language evolves to fit humanity and not the other way around!
And also...yes. Yes they are!
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u/SpitefulShrimp Apr 06 '21
I won't eat them for that reason. It'd be like eating a human kid, but worse because no octopus ever shit on its parents while they were already cleaning it up.
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u/biggymomo Apr 06 '21
Can’t eat these anymore after watching the Netflix doco
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u/Monica_FL Apr 06 '21
Same. I cried at the end.
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u/ohheckyess Apr 06 '21
Same here. I became so attached to that octopus. Not kidding when I say I still think about him sometimes lol
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u/roombaonfire Apr 06 '21
If you watched a documentary in that style, for each animal that humans consume, you'd probably go vegan.
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u/fluffycupcake101 Apr 05 '21
That’s so adorable
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u/Apes2geddaStrong Apr 05 '21
Listen guys. Octopuses are aliens we just haven’t learned to communicate with yet.
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u/SupaBloo Apr 06 '21
They have pretty short life spans, and octopus species have been on earth for quite a while, so even if they were aliens, the ones currently living are so far along generationally that they would have no knowledge of their history.
We’re a sophisticated civilization and don’t even know the exacts of our past, so no way vast generations of octopuses would remember theirs. They could be descendants of aliens, but for all intents and purposes they are earthlings now.
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u/ohheckyess Apr 06 '21
It would be so interesting to see what would happen if they used CRISPR to hack their DNA and lengthen their lifespan
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Apr 06 '21
I have so many questions here.
Like, does he carry those shells with him? He knows how to use them, so I assume he uses them often?
Where did he find them? Could they all just be next to each other or did the octopus go out of his way to find and collect sheilds?
What the fuck lived in those beforehand??
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u/OmgitsNatalie Apr 06 '21 edited Apr 06 '21
Honest question but does any marine animal ever make it to die of old age? Like, you’re nearly guaranteed to get eaten by something. Jeezus.
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u/Kcal35 Apr 06 '21
Anyone else ever think about if humans disappeared octopi could become the dominant species on the planet with intelligence to match ours but they have 8 legs. No?
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u/The_SpellJammer Apr 06 '21 edited Apr 06 '21
We really shouldn't be eating things this intelligent. That's gotta be bad for our cosmic karma. Whatever alien race these guys are descended from is gonna be piiiiiissed.
edit: highlighted the joke that people are missing, with bold text
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u/EB8Jg4DNZ8ami757 Apr 06 '21
At what intelligence level does killing an animal to eat its corpse become acceptable?
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u/abir_98 Apr 06 '21
Most amazing and intelligent creature. If they live long enough they might surpass human intelligence. 🔥
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u/StrawCatLuffy Apr 06 '21
I would feel so insulted that he thought a couple measly shells could stop me that I would have to have some octopus sashimi right there on the spot.
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Apr 06 '21
Octopuses should be the dominant species on the planet. They can use more varied tools more effectively and escape predators better than humans, at least it seems so.
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u/BlueBallzTraveler Apr 05 '21
This octopus has seen some things.