Written by Jerry James Stone, Treehugger
Wow, check out this amazing video of an octopus literally crawling out of the water and walking across dry land.
It turns out this behavior is not as uncommon as one might expect. Captive octopuses escape with alarming frequency. While on the lam, they have been discovered in teapots and even on bookshelves.
“Some would let themselves be captured, only to use the net as a trampoline. They’d leap off the mesh and onto the floor—and then run for it. Yes, run. You’d chase them under the tank, back and forth, like you were chasing a cat,” Middlebury College researcher Alexa Warburton says. “It’s so weird!”
That said, capturing it on film is quite rare. Mainly because studies on octopuses are so limited due to the creature’s typical shyness and their brief life span of about three years. Back in 2005, the journal Science first published findings on this behavior. However, this was underwater. These octopuses were the first animals to walk on two limbs without a hard skeleton; usually they use all eight legs.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if other octopus species also walk,” said Science author Christine Huffard, from the University of California, Berkeley.
It seems like they do!
This post was originally published by Treehugger.
Related Stories:
Sonar Found Harmful to Squid, Other Marine Invertebrates
Over 12,000 Tons of Plastic Ingested by Fish (Video)
Save the Nautilus, A Living Fossil!
Read more: marine life, ocean, octopi, octopus, treehugger
Photo from neptunecanada via flickr
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may
not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.
For years now there has been a perceptible effort to scapegoat wind energy for bird deaths, especially…
Thanks for sharing.
What can one expect from a country that condones,the great seal slaughter to happen.
238 comments
+ add your ownVery interesting, but did I blink and miss the walking. All I saw was a small octopus crawling over a hard terrin.
all I cn say is WOW never knew they could walk on land cool beans
Interesting...very interesting.
This poor animal is fade up of his infantile unnature home.
ty
People eat anything that moves. Though I am a carnivore, I only eat animals raised for that purpose. Nothing wild.
Amazing creatures )
interesting
Mother Nature Needs Us
I think the octopus is pretty darn cool. But they should be left in the ocean where they belong.
How do they breath?
thanks for sharing
login to add your comment
use your care2 login
add your comment