A Japanese fisherman captured the moment an octopus crawled out of a clamshell, according
to Storyful.
The octopus is seen struggling to free itself from the shell before it jumps back into the sea.
The mollusks are known to use empty clamshells as protection.
A member of the fishing party, Ai Miura, posted the octopus video on Twitter on July 7,
ABC7 reported.
National Geographic noted in a 2017 article about a different shell-carrying octopus that because “an octopus is unprotected when it hunts prey, a shell can provide more safety, even if it’s cumbersome to lug around.”
“In addition to camouflage and ink-squirting, behavior like this shows the creativity that allows octopuses to survive in the ocean without a hard outer shell,” the publication says.
Octopus Escapes Jar
In another incident years ago, an octopus was placed into a plastic jar and the lid screwed on. The octopus then uses its arms and suction cups to remove the lid.However, the animal doesn’t leave its enclosure, and likely sees it as protection.
It’s apparently a common phenomenon, as several YouTube videos suggest.
In 2014, as Scientific American
noted, an octopus set “a record for jar opening.”
“The treat-in-a-jar trick has long been a favorite activity to give octopuses in aquariums. Just like humans, octopuses get faster at these manipulation tasks with practice. And one octopus in New Zealand might just have broken the jar-opening speed record, using his many suckers to twist off a cap and grab his meaty prize—all in under a minute, the Marlborough Express reported today,” the report
said.
It also has been noted that octopi are smart relative to other animals.
“The two of you look at each other. This one is small, about the size of a tennis ball. You reach forward a hand and stretch out one finger, and one octopus arm slowly uncoils and comes out to touch you. The suckers grab your skin, and the hold is disconcertingly tight. Having attached the suckers, it tugs your finger, pulling you gently in. . . . Behind the arm, large round eyes watch you the whole time,”
wrote Callum Roberts, who is a professor of marine conservation at the University of York in Britain and the author of “The Ocean of Life: The Fate of Man and the Sea.”
Man Picks Up Deadly Octopus
A tourist filmed himself picking up a deadly blue-ringed
octopus with his bare hands, and Australian locals said it was a bad idea.
According to News.com.au, the video had Chinese text accompanying it. “Such a beautiful octopus,” it said, according to a translation.
The person then shakes off the octopus after they were done filming it.
The blue-ringed octopus is one of the deadliest animals and can kill a person within minutes with its venom.
Commenters were stunned by the tourist’s audacity.
“Do they even know how lucky they are to be alive after doing something that monumentally stupid?” one person said.
“This is how tourists become statistics,” another said.
The Ocean Conservancy says the octopus’ “psychedelic coloring and pint-sized packaging make it seem more adorable than alarming. But don’t let its cuddly exterior fool you: this tiny octopus can kill you. And quickly.”
