In an excerpt from the new book Secrets of the Octopus, an animal lover offers insight into this “strange, beautiful, curious creature.”
Though she was an adult, she was only about four feet tall. She weighed a mere 40 pounds. And she was unusual in several other respects. She could change color and shape, taste with her skin, drool venom, spit ink, and jet about by squirting water through a siphon on the side of her head. Not to mention pour her baggy, boneless body through an opening the size of an orange. Her head wasn’t even on top of her body, like mine.
The elusive wunderpus octopus lives throughout the Philippines. It can contort its body to mimic other creatures, including the venomous lionfish.It was clear to me that we had shared an illuminating exchange. Athena, to my surprise, was just as inquisitive about me as I was about her.my human friend Jody Simpson asked me the next day as I described my encounter with Athena while we walked our dogs through the woods. Jody is a good friend to many animals.
Yet I was also struck by an unexpected sameness. Despite the yawning gap in our taxonomic classifications, it seemed possible that we could have a meeting of the minds. Perhaps we could even be friends.The Maori octopus keeps a sharp eye out for its favorite meals—crabs, lobsters, and mussels—while watching for predators: sea lions and pilot whales.
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