And now they're using TOOLS!

[the_vulture]

I've always adored octopi. It might be my inner Cthulhu worshiper expressing himself, but I've always found these creatures absolutely fascinating. One of the qualities I really admire about them is their intelligence, which surpasses that of many vertebrates, let alone other members of their invertebrate brethren.

Just to give you an idea of how smart our little eight legged friends are, I present to you the following account of a film documented experiment (with some gratuitous personification added in for flavour). Two octopi are in adjoining aquariums, separated by an opaque divider. A crab in a screw-on lid jar is thrown into each tank.

Octopus 1: Yay, a crab snack! Hey, wait! What's with this hard bubble? I can't get at the crab, dammit! Can't break it, can't bite through it, ARGH!

Octupus 2: Yay, a crab snack! WTF? It's stuck in a hard bubble. That's weird! Hey, if I twist this bit that looks kinda like a sand dollar (the lid), it gets a little loose. If I keep twisting it... YES! Sweet crabbity-goodness is MINE!

The opaque divider is removed and another round of crabs in jars are tossed in.

Octopus 1: Yay, cra... Aw, damn. It looks like it's in one of those hard bubbles again. Stupid air breathers are probably having a laugh. I'm not gonna even go near the thing: no point. Wait, what's Joe doing with his?

Octopus 2 (Joe): Woohoo! More crabbity goodness! Just twist and OM NOM NOM! *bliss*

Octopus 1: Damn, why didn't I think of that? Okay, grab the bit that looks like a sand dollar, twist it around and, YES, the damn crab is MINE. Thanks, Joe! And I bet those silly air breathers thought I wasn't capable of observational learning. Shows them, don't it!

So yeah, they're smart, really smart.

Still, I was quite surprised, when following a link found in the article presented in wtf_nature , to find evidence that THEY ARE USING TOOLS!

Yes, according to this article, some of the little guys are selecting and carrying around coconut shells to construct a handy armoured shelter to sleep in. That puts 'em into a category of intelligence normally reserved for mammals and birds, and at the higher end of the spectrum at that!

Imagine what they could accomplish if they had a lifespan that lasted more than a few years at most...

Comments

[alias_chick.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I saw that a while back and in my behavioural genetics class, the prof told us this story about this octopus that kept escaping. It suctioned its way out of the tank and towards the drain (that lead to the ocean), they put a wood board on top, it suctioned the lid and slid it to get out, they put the board with a weight, but it was in the middle, so it got it off again and then they put various weights on the edges, so it couldn't get out. I mean they are truly amazing creatures, and they would indubidably take over the world! Especially since most of it is water. :D

[the-vulture.livejournal.com]

Yeah, they'd be frightening if they didn't have such incredibly short lifespans with which to learn and apply stuff.

[cloudstarwolf.livejournal.com]

... they figured how to get the males to live longer.... they basically neuter them and they don't have the 'shut down' response they get when older....

(at least I think it was the males/ pretty sure... and was talked about the octopus that was in the Seward Alaskan Sea Life center... that it doubled the life span of them.... )

people are creating the superbeast!

You can always do more when you have a longer lifespan....

( can you imagine if parrots and octopi joined forces?)

[the-vulture.livejournal.com]

Doubling their lifespan by neutering 'em? Interesting.

And, yeah, parrots are wicked scary smart, too.

[cloudstarwolf.livejournal.com]

OH!

THIS. HEY!

You mind if I borrow your conversation between the octopi for a Sad But True strip? Because it's full of lolz and cartoony octopi would be FUN to try to draw... XD

THANK YOU FOR SHARING... the world is so incrediably neat.

[the-vulture.livejournal.com]

Feel free; just give me props, please. :)