SO LONG, SUCKERS
Octopuses are waving a tentacled goodbye to their unwarranted reputation as ocean baddies as research reveals them as clever, curious and gentle. Now a stunning new TV series sheds fresh light on this remarkable maritime animal
YOU might want to look away before reading the next paragraph. Octopuses are severely traumatised by being confined in small spaces. When it happens, they have been known to bite off their own arm through sheer anxiety. I did warn you it was grisly.
This is one of many reasons why Dr Alex Schnell, a world-leading authority on octopuses, is ardently opposed to a plan to build the world’s first octopus farm which has already raised deep concerns among scientists over animal welfare.
The farm in Spain’s Canary Islands would raise about a million octopuses annually for food. “The really scary thing is that because octopuses are not social – they are just not suitable candidates for being housed in these big groups,” she tells the Daily Express.
“When they are put together, they show really high levels of stress, agitated behaviour, loss of appetite and pale colouration. Not only do they eat each other, but when they are stressed, they can eat their own arms.”
The marine biologist has played a vital role in proving octopuses are also capable of feeling emotions – another strong argument against farming them. “I was part of a group that did a lot of work at the London School of Economics in 2021,” she continues, speaking from her home in Australia. “We reviewed evidence for the capacity of octopuses to feel emotions. We found strong evidence for that and ended up changing UK law. So now under UK law, octopuses are considered sentient beings, and that has implications for the way that we treat them.”
The Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 means that, for the first time, octopuses must be treated ethically and with compassion.
Alex is obsessed with octopuses – and her mission is to convert us all to her passion.
She contends that this marine species of eight-legged mollusc has been depicted in popular fiction and film as terrifying aggressors bent on destroying us, for instance the giant squid in 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea or the deadly face-hugger in Octopussy.
The scientist admits: “Even 15 years ago, when I started working with octopuses, a lot of the response that I would get from family members and friends was,
‘Why? They’re strange and grotesque and slimy’.” Their sheer oddness has only been underlined by their apparently alien qualities. Octopuses have blue blood, beaks, three beating hearts and eight arms. However, Alex maintains that octopuses have had a very bad rap. She is determined to demonstrate that in fact they should be really valued as they possess astonishing intelligence.
That was reinforced in 2016 when “Inky”, a common New Zealand octopus, squeezed out of his tank at the National Aquarium of New Zealand in Napier. He proceeded to shimmy across the floor and descend a 50-metre drainpipe into the sea. This highly gifted escape artist then swam off to freedom and was never seen again.
It was a scene that could have been lifted straight out of Finding Nemo.
In her fascinating new three-part series, Secrets Of The Octopus, Alex proves the animals display many other characteristics that we associate with being human: they are clever, curious, gentle, and fierce. They build cities, use tools, and work with other species to hunt. They even have their own distinctive personalities – some are outgoing, while others are reticent. These remarkable creatures are also masters of disguise. In a flash, they can change their skin colour, texture, and body shape in order to catch or evade other animals.
In addition, octopuses are able to see in wavelengths beyond our vision. Recent studies have uncovered octopus consciousness, memories and sophisticated decisionmaking, too.
Alex, whose post-doctoral work at Cambridge focused on the complex memory mechanisms in cephalopods (octopus, cuttlefish and squid), is eager for us to welcome the emotional embrace of the octopus in the same way that she has done. She emphasises: “I really do hope that this series gives our audience a different perspective of the octopus.”
Octopuses are also capable of interacting with their environment and communicating with other species, including humans. This is borne out in a stand-out scene from Secrets Of The Octopus, which started streaming this week on Nat Geo Wild.
Alex recounts her poignant exchange on the Great Barrier Reef with an octopus she nicknamed Scarlett: “It always astounds me how quickly octopuses grow to trust me. I had only spent about 30 minutes with Scarlett before she decided she wanted to shake my hand.” As Scarlett extended her arm in friendship to Alex, it was a truly profound encounter. The scientist describes
‘The octopus is a compelling ambassador who can make people care about our blue planet’
it as a “life-changing moment”. After that, “Scarlett let me swim alongside her while she was hunting. Then each time I returned, she appeared to really recognise me quickly and let me back into her world.
“That might not seem like a huge task. But you’ve got to imagine being a creature with no skeleton, no shell, no teeth and no claws to protect yourself.
“Despite her extreme vulnerability, she would let her guard down and trust a creature like me, who is 10 times her size.”
IN ANOTHER memorable sequence from the series, produced by Titanic and Avatar director James Cameron, an impassioned advocate for marine life, Alex observes octopuses using tools, groundbreaking behaviour for an invertebrate.
“In the 1960s, we thought that was only a human trait until Jane Goodall found it in a chimpanzee. But we saw it when we filmed the coconut octopus in Indonesia,” she says.
“This species lives in really barren, sandy landscapes where there’s nowhere to hide. And so, they’ll often be seen carrying around two halves of a coconut, like a mobile home, so they can instantly hide under them if a predator approaches.” Alex continues: “I was really excited to see this behaviour unfold, but I got even more than I bargained for. In the clip, a coconut octopus is being threatened by an angry mantis shrimp. It doesn’t look like much – it’s just a little shrimp – but it has a really mean punch. It’s even been known to crack aquarium glass.
“Here we have this soft-bodied octopus trying to defend herself by lifting her arms up. And then in an instant, I see her have an idea. She scurries over to this coconut shell and picks it up and starts fending off this angry mantis shrimp with it, using it as a shield. I’m so blown away with excitement, I am screaming underwater.
“It’s really advanced behaviour.
We see tool use in marine mammals like dolphins and whales.
But we have only recently started finding tool use in animals without a backbone. So it is really mind-blowing to see such sophistication in octopuses.” The animals also have a quite uncanny ability to shape-shift. It is their unique superpower. Their body contains 20 million different sacs which can produce an endless array of patterns and colours in just a fifth of a second.
In another amazing sequence from the documentary, Scarlett is being pursued across the Great Barrier Reef by a hungry reef shark 10 times her size.
The brown-coloured octopus lands on the reef and, in the blink of an eye, turns green and melts into the coral, instantly invisible to the predator.
It is a spookily brilliant act of escapology.
Secrets Of The Octopus reminds us that we are not necessarily the most intelligent species on the planet. According to Alex: “We will never have the types of intelligent traits an octopus has, and we just have to admire them for their uniqueness.”
The scientist is hopeful her series will help us reassess not only the octopus, but also our relationship with our natural surroundings. “The octopus is a really compelling ambassador who can make people care about our blue planet, highlighting the need to protect our oceans, and by extension, human wellbeing.”
Above all, the marine biologist hopes the series will help us re-evaluate this seriously misunderstood animal. “Even though the octopus looks nothing like us, I think the programme will help us feel more compassion and empathy towards this creature, rather than shying away from it and saying, ‘Oh, that’s just weird’.”
THE scientist believes her campaign to “rebrand” the octopus is already having some success. “I really do think it’s changing. I’m such an animal lover, but believe it or not, my mum is not. She finds everything a bit creepy-crawly. But when she first watched the scene where Scarlett and I have a moment and she shakes my hand, it actually brought my mum to tears.”
You heard it here first. An octopus can make you cry – but in a good way.