Diver Vs. Octopus

[OE2X]

Not to sound like a tree hugger - but if you dove with one and saw them out in there natural element, you probably would never want to eat tako ever again. Been there, ate that, won't anymore. Around here they are one of the most beautiful creatures that you can see.

Now squid - well yum!

 

[HilaryRN71]

Dangit I can't watch the clip on the Mac. RRrrrr

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

I respect all wildlife, and would never go and kill one for the purpose of eating it. But if it's on the menu at a sushi bar, I have just one question: Where are my chopsticks?

 

[OE2X]

I used to be the same way. Now let me find some scallops and I'll be doing sushi on my boat.

 

[The Kraken]

The octopus/diver thing is kind of like the old Mutual of Omaha "Wild Kingdom" series with Marlon Perkins and his sidekick, Sideshow Bob, or whatever his name was.

They'd do a hokey setup with old man Perkins getting tangled up with some wild, ferocious creature and his sidekick would always show up just in the nick of time to save him from "certain death!!!!".

Kind of like all of the documentaries on treasure divers and that ilk, "With only 3 days of diving left, the weather takes a nasty turn . . . . blah, blah, blah"

the K

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

Jeez, Krak: that sounds like my trip to Cozumel! LMAO

 

[CD_in_Chitown]

The only thing I think is not real is the diver pretending to struggle for a while trying to get away from the octopus. Come on, we human are much stronger that the creature. If the diver really wants to scare (or even kill) the octopus, he can just squeeze the octopus soft-body like squeezing a balloon. I'm sure the octopus would leave him alone.

So, IMHO I believe the clip is real but the struggling is bogus. eyebrow

You have no idea, when the GPO flexes the musles are hard as rock. With their maneuverability in the water I think a good sized one could have its way with me in open water. But they would run, IMHO unless of course I poked my head into a wreck where it had been living then it might jump on my face. Especially if I used crab cologne while my buddy filmed me.

I think an octo could kill a diver more easily than a dog could kill a man.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I think an octo could kill a diver more easily than a dog could kill a man.

Quite so ... if they've got ahold of you, and a large enough rock, all they have to do is decide not to let go. You have a limited air supply ... they don't ... :11:

As for the video ... Chris, you and I have a couple of mutual acquaintances who have interacted somewhat like that with octopus (Chris J. and Tami McG). In Chris's case, he stuck out his hand to cop a feel and the thing rather quickly crawled up his arm and wrapped a couple of tentacles around his head. One of the divers got a whole sequence of pics ... the rest of us were just laughing. Tami had an encounter up in Nanaimo with one that literally wrapped itself around her head ... she just stayed quiet for a while and let it do its thing, and after a few minutes it decided to go play somewhere else.

I don't like characterisations of octopus as creatures that will "attack" a diver ... I've had way too many interactions with them (wolf eels too) to believe that, if anything they're just as curious about us as we are about them. Nothing wrong with that ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[JeffG]

I don't like characterisations of octopus as creatures that will "attack" a diver ... I've had way too many interactions with them (wolf eels too) to believe that, if anything they're just as curious about us as we are about them. Nothing wrong with that ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

My encounter was during dusk on a 155ft dive. It was pretty dark. I had just repainted my name on my fins and I would bet money he saw the flashes of white on my fins as a fish (or fishes). When he/she realized what it caught it was way more freaked out than I was.

 

[CD_in_Chitown]

Tami had an encounter up in Nanaimo with one that literally wrapped itself around her head ... she just stayed quiet for a while and let it do its thing, and after a few minutes it decided to go play somewhere else.

I had seen the pictures of CJs encounter but hadn't heard about Tami's adventure. What a cool head, she impressed me early in her dive life with the same trait. Nothing that exciting though, Wow!