Octopus' use of tools

geo · Tue Dec 15, 2009 3:32 pm

Now, well, this is pretty cool. An extended phenotype . . .

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2 ... .tools.abc

Suzanne · Tue Dec 15, 2009 6:19 pm

Yes, very cool indeed. Interesting that the octopus used coconut shells discarded by humans. It is a wonder to think that marine life, such as the octopus could evolve to not only use the waste of humans, but to possibly find a way to thrive in polluted areas. Smart octopus!

DWill · Wed Dec 16, 2009 8:46 am

Sometimes I see on sci-fi movies these fantastic-looking creatures who are as intelligent as we are and automatically think, "Nah!, any creature that intelligent would have to look more like us." It's just my human chauvinism coming through. Why couldn't a species called octopus sapiens be possible?

lottebeertje · Wed Dec 16, 2009 9:23 am

I read something about an octopus using a coconut shell, is this what this forum is about? Amazing that a non-vertebrae shows to have an above-average intelligence. Makes me realise once more that we are not that special as humans...

weaver · Wed Dec 16, 2009 11:17 am

The octopus doesn't live long but their intelligence can be proven from this story which I think is 3 yrs old now.
An aquarium held an octopu in a tank near another tank containing whatever auqatic aanimals they like to eat.
Every morning the lab crew would come in and find the one tank with a lot less fish. Couldn't figure it out.
One morning, a worker noticed a wet trail between the two tanks. So, at end of day one person watched frrom distance and as soon as the lights went out the octopus climbed out of it's tank, skiddered over tthe foor and dropped into the other tank for a food orgy.
Read this in reputable magazine like New Yorker or Atlantic Monthly.
We need to rethink our concepts on animal intelligence.

stahrwe · Wed Dec 16, 2009 2:55 pm


	weaver wrote: The octopus doesn't live long but their intelligence can be proven from this story which I think is 3 yrs old now. An aquarium held an octopu in a tank near another tank containing whatever auqatic aanimals they like to eat. Every morning the lab crew would come in and find the one tank with a lot less fish. Couldn't figure it out. One morning, a worker noticed a wet trail between the two tanks. So, at end of day one person watched frrom distance and as soon as the lights went out the octopus climbed out of it's tank, skiddered over tthe foor and dropped into the other tank for a food orgy. Read this in reputable magazine like New Yorker or Atlantic Monthly. We need to rethink our concepts on animal intelligence.

And what, we are to believe that this freakishly smart octopus ate the yummy fish and then high tailed it back to the other aquarium devoid of its snack food in order to mess with the stupid humans?

Someone is hanging noodles on your ears.

As for the coconuts, they look a lot like clams and scallops. I think eight legs is just trying to eat them and is too stupid to realize they aren't food.

Stahrwe
Y.E.C.
C.R.U.D.E.
Turtle up

geo · Wed Dec 16, 2009 3:56 pm


	weaver wrote: The octopus doesn't live long but their intelligence can be proven from this story which I think is 3 yrs old now. An aquarium held an octopu in a tank near another tank containing whatever auqatic aanimals they like to eat. Every morning the lab crew would come in and find the one tank with a lot less fish. Couldn't figure it out. One morning, a worker noticed a wet trail between the two tanks. So, at end of day one person watched frrom distance and as soon as the lights went out the octopus climbed out of it's tank, skiddered over tthe foor and dropped into the other tank for a food orgy. Read this in reputable magazine like New Yorker or Atlantic Monthly. We need to rethink our concepts on animal intelligence.

This is a cool story, weaver. It appears to be true. Here's a discussion I found . . .

http://www.tonmo.com/forums/showthread. ... nextnewest

An excerpt: "The culprit was our Pinnoctopus cordiformis (then O. maorum ) and he skipped out of his tank over the top of another tank into the Crayfish tank ( Jasus edwardsii ) had a meal and skipped home before the resident technician did his late night checks! He was caught when the tech came in half an hour early to do the checks. I have since seen (PERSONALLY!) other members of this species do the exact same thing (although we've shifted the crays as it's too expensive to keep sending the boats and divers out for more!). We've since sealed the octi tank with perspex sheets (astroturf and all that sort of stuff didn't work!)."

geo · Wed Dec 16, 2009 4:07 pm

Okay, here's a video that seems to show an octopus leaving its tank, eating a crab in the tank nearby, then returning to its own tank. Hilarious. Not a great quality video however.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvv537vy ... re=related

(hey, is there a way to embed youtube videos? I thought we could do that.)

johnson1010 · Thu Dec 17, 2009 11:16 am

I was just coming throught o post this very link!

........................ GEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

geo · Thu Dec 17, 2009 11:29 am


	johnson1010 wrote: I was just coming throught o post this very link! ........................ GEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Heh, heh. beat you to it.

:lol:

stahrwe · Thu Dec 17, 2009 12:14 pm

Hey if it's on youtube it must be legit. Olivia Munn would call, 'shenigans'.
I found a possible link to the origin of the story, see below. Apparently lobsters were disappearing from a tank at night. The night watchman was a suspect so to clear his name, he staked the place out. Sure enough that night he heard a commotion and surprised eight legs red tentacled with a hot lobster. Eight legs made a dash for his home aquarium with the guard in hot pursuit. Fortunately eight legs was caught when he stopped at the kitchen to melt some butter. When the octopus' tank was searched it was discovered that the miscreant was burying the lobster shells under rocks to avoid detection. Fortunately, the night watchman was cleared. It couldn't have turned out better if he had framed eight legs himself.

http://www.this-magic-sea.com/MEMORY2.HTM

Next you'll be telling me that life evolved instead of being created.

Some people will believe anything.

stahrwe
Y.E.C.
C.R.U.D.E.
Merry Christmas
Happy Hannukah
Gud Jul

weaver · Thu Dec 17, 2009 1:45 pm

I love the story. If it's an urban legend then so what. It's still amusing to think of an octopus outsmarting humans.
Went to Wegman's and they have octopi for sale in their fish dept. UGH.

By the way, since I'm deaf I do not always connect with English idioms. What in the world does "noodles hanging on your ears" mean in reference to the octopus story? Is that like having rocks for brains? If so, well thanks alot.

johnson1010 · Thu Dec 17, 2009 3:17 pm

People think it is impossible for animals to exhibit intelligence bacause of their people-centric world views. They like to think that we as people are fundamentally different, instead of different by order of magnitude.

The same thought processes and emotions we have are exhibited throughout the animal kingdom, at all stages, but with varying degrees of sophistication.

It is not a case of humans possessing reason, and animals posses instincts. It is a case of humans possesing greater reasoning abilities than animals (most people, in most cases, hey star?).

Everyone and everything alive is on a sliding scale.

Did you know that chimps vastly out-perform us in some purely-mental categories?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,314681,00.html

the chimps are better at this particular mental skill than humans.

geo · Thu Dec 17, 2009 3:22 pm


	stahrwe wrote: Some people will believe anything.

You can be so hilarious sometimes. The man who believes the earth is 8,000 years old is giving lessons in skepticism.

:clap2:

weaver · Thu Dec 17, 2009 6:49 pm

8,000 years old???? WHO believes that??? So am missing something. That man and dinosaurs co-existed?

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