their arms are similar to our tongues in that their muscle fibers are Ā oriented in three different directionsĀ
octopuses are disconcertingly strong (anecdotal evidence says that a 15 inch wide octopus was as strong as the scientist handling it)
on that note that same scientist said that when her octopuses escaped she would have to run behind them, ālike catsā (paraphrased from sy montgomeryās the soul of an octopus)
aquariums haveĀ āoctopus enriching programsā so they donāt get bored and fuck shit up in their tanks
they are crazy smart like. really. really fucking smartĀ
but we canāt compare their intelligence to ours because our evolution branched from the same common ancestor so long ago we cannot comprehend how they think
itās believed that their intelligence evolved when they lost their shell, and had to adapt to predict how countless of different prey and predators would act, how to avoid them, distract them, lure them or trick themĀ
they visualize how other creatures are going to act, which means they have haveĀ awareness that others are individuals which is a type of consciousness but i canāt remember what itās called right nowĀ
they have distinct personalitiesĀ
aquarium octopuses are socialized from a very young age and even though in the wild they are solitary creatures they become extremely friendly with enough human exposure
sometimes they dislike people for no apparent reason and will shoot water at them
each of their arms has a tiny brain that controls movement and sensory input on its own i shit you not
they are color blind and yet they can camouflage their color and nobody knows howĀ
they can change the color and texture of their skin faster than human eyes can keep up with it
great pacific octopuses are white when they are peaceful, and red when theyāre excitedĀ
aquarium octopus have escaped their tanks and slithered down pipes into the oceanĀ
escaped their tanks to eat the fish in other tanksĀ
escaped their tanks to go fight other octopuses cuz they were bored
learned how to take photographs
cost thousands of dollars by flooding new floors
they can feel, taste, and smell with their suckers and all of their skin
they enjoy tasting their food by slowly moving it through their suckers instead of shoving it in their beaks
they can rewrite their rna. no, really
the only reason why they havenāt evolved to take over as the next dominant race is because theyāre doing pretty well Ā in the ocean so thereās no need for them to adapt furtherĀ
thereās a ton more but iām so overwhelmed by love i canā think of any at the moment iām going to cry
read the soul of an octopus by sy mongomery no she didnāt pay me i just love octopuses so muchĀ
jacobvanloon
blakekathryn
theartofmadeline
