Octopuses are known to have literally massive brains—the biggest brain-to-body ratio of any invertebrate—which makes them not only smart, but also curious and playful. The perfect example of this is a giant Pacific octopus that two divers encountered off the coast of Vancouver Island in Canada. Captivated by their shiny camera equipment, the inquisitive creature grabbed it from their hands and recorded itself from up close.
The divers, underwater videographers John Roney and Chris Mullen, were exploring Nanoose Bay, a place known for being home to large octopuses. While aware of this fact, they were still taken by surprise when a particularly large specimen—about 10 feet wide arm to arm—caught their eye. The feeling was seemingly mutual, as the octopus got up from its resting spot under a ledge to check them out.
“It sort of approached us directly, hopped, and explored my camera, and then I just let go of my camera and I let it have it for a couple of minutes,” Roney told CBC. “It was carrying the camera around for a little bit, aiming it at a wall and stuff. It was doing some filming on its own. It was even kind enough to use its suckers to turn it off after (the camera) was running for about three minutes.”
The footage, which the videographers posted to Instagram, shows the octopus’s web—the membrane of skin that connects the arms at their base—as well as its arms covered in lightly colored suckers. “Ten out of 10 underwater videographer for the octopus,” Roney added. “Honestly, the best footage of inside an octopus’s web I’ve seen an octopus take.” Roney also praised the octopus’s cinematography work—an even higher compliment given the fact that he himself has been a documentary filmmaker for many years. Notably, the pair also credited the octopus for its work on the video caption.
Once done playing with the camera, the octopus turned to a mushier subject—Mullen’s face. The creature “hugged” the diver with his arms, placing its suckers on his mask. While taken aback, Mullen recalls the octopus’s move as driven by curiosity rather than hostility. “You could see it was holding on to him, but it wasn’t grabbing him,” said Roney. To him, his friend seemed to be having a good time. “It was a very gentle hug,” Mullen said. “This is what I was hoping for, this was what I wanted.”
Ultimately, the encounter reaffirmed the cleverness and will to learn from octopuses. In turn, the warm reception to the video speaks of our wish to understand these creatures better. “You really see that people are fascinated by these animals because they’re so intelligent and they’re so curious, and they’re also so otherworldly, right. They’re so different from anything that you’d see on land,” Roney said. “And it makes me happy to see people seeing our local marine life here.”
You can watch the octopus going at the camera—and Mullen’s head—in the videos below.
Underwater videographers John Roney and Chris Mullen had an octopus grab their camera from their hands and record itself from up close.
Once done playing with the camera, the octopus turned to a mushier subject—Mullen’s face.
John Roney: Instagram
Chris Mullen: Instagram
Sources: Giant Pacific octopus shoots video of itself after claiming camera from B.C. divers; John Roney on Instagram; Octopuses keep surprising us – here are eight examples how
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