{"id":8270,"date":"2021-09-01T08:00:35","date_gmt":"2021-09-01T06:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scubaibiza.com\/?p=8270"},"modified":"2026-09-29T09:52:29","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T09:52:29","slug":"octopus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scubaibiza.com\/en\/octopus\/","title":{"rendered":"OCTOPUS"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/span>It has been some time since I met him. Why do I\u00a0say\u00a0“him”, you\u00a0may ask.\u00a0Because it was the first one and because it was love at first sight!\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One day, like so many others, I plunged into the deep blue and let myself be carried away by the same slogan as always: Here I am, surprise me!\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And it happened that my attention was caught by a kind of garden with many shells of different shapes and colors, pebbles of all sizes, strategically piled together and piled on top of something. I was not the only one confused or surprised, all the fish that came and went were too. I felt watched, but at the same time I was attracted to the unknown.\u00a0A long while had passed when I realized that a gaze was penetrating me. Then,\u00a0suddenly, that crazy ball of junk shook itself and as if in a magic show appeared in all its splendor and doing its great act of escapism. It took courage, and like a flash of lightning it swam away at full speed. I was perplexed, I had just met\u00a0“Mr. Octopus”, he and his act had made me fall in love with him! As soon as I entered\u00a0its\u00a0world, I realized that this animal was different, that I really wanted to meet\u00a0it\u00a0and learn about\u00a0its\u00a0life in the deep blue. They were brief and intense minutes of connecting with more than just an animal, it was the knowledge that I would have a lot of learning ahead of me.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Today I have several\u00a0“octopuses\u00a0friends”. Yes, just as you hear it, we are friends. And on every\u00a0dive,\u00a0I stop by to visit them in their little houses with the beautiful garden in front of them. Gaining their trust is not an easy task. To achieve it, I pass by every day and stay in front of them for a long time so that the distrust dissipates. One of their first steps for this approach is to peek a little, but leaving their suction cups inside the cave, as a sign of protection against a possible unexpected situation. As the days go by, a habit is generated that leads us both to a bond. Today, I extend my hand and they do the same,\u00a0contacting\u00a0their tentacles. It is our greeting!!!!! What a pleasant feeling, like greeting a friend and shaking their hand upon seeing them. Both of us breathing underwater and united in a greeting, it is a magical sequence that cannot be explained in words. When you have that connection with an animal there is no better feeling in the world, it really is amazing!\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How about knowing more about our friends,\u00a0the Octopuses, their behavior and curiosities?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Octopuses are highly intelligent animals, capable of solving complex problems, discriminating through classical\u00a0conditioning,\u00a0and learning through observation. Despite not being particularly long-lived and having a solitary lifestyle, they are able to learn and show their cognitive capacity by adopting different behaviors depending on the stimulus. It has been shown that learning can be worked with them using positive rewards and negative consequences.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Octopuses apply significantly different pressure when they are about to manipulate different utensils, prey or, on the contrary, act defensively against predators. It has been shown that they hold prey, as is the case with fish, with much greater intensity than when they manipulate the tools they can use for protection and recognize and differentiate their own amputated tentacles from those of other members of the same species. According to one of the studies consulted, 94% of octopuses did not eat their own tentacles, but transported them to their shelter using their beaks.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They are capable of transporting materials to build their own shelters, even if they have difficulty moving and may temporarily jeopardize their survival. In this way, they have the opportunity to subsist longer. They can also mimic species in their environment that are poisonous as a further form of survival. These behaviors are possible because of their long-term memory capacity, learning and their defensive reflex memory. In these behaviors, serotonin, a neurotransmitter substance that influences mood,\u00a0emotions,\u00a0and depressive states in a wide range of animals, plays a very important role. It is for this reason that “The Cambridge Statement on Consciousness” includes the octopus as an animal capable of self-awareness.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Next, I will tell you some curiosities and physical characteristics about octopuses:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n