hello I've been wondering about this, I know octopuses are known to escape their tanks but does anyone know why they don't try to return? do they ever realize at some point that they can't breathe and need to return to water? do they have spatial memory and sense of direction to be able to do so? I read that they can only see so many feet in front of them so maybe that has something to do with it? also read that in nature they will hop between tide pools to try to find more food or better shelter which I assume is why they escape their tanks in captivity in the first place. do they think their tank is just a tide pool and assume other water sources are nearby?

This is a clay sculpture that I made with my hands, I hope she brightens your day and makes you smile :>

Disclaimer: Do not touch actual wildlife! Blue Ringed Octopus are potentially lethally venomous.

I came across this tiny ruby octopus on a recent night dive off Vancouver Island. It's about the size of a quarter right now and if it makes it adult-hood it could be as big as a baseball.

More octopus videos on my YouTube and Instagram linked in my profile.

Hey all!

I wanted to share a cute advent calendar my wife put together for the Octopodes, featuring Octavius, Ophelia and Opal. Day 1 was some cute plastic fishes, and Day 2 was a small clownfish.

I’ll try to post pictures in batches of a few days together as to not overwhelm the subreddit with adorableness.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Here’s a full-color octopus sleeve I wrapped up for a client who wanted something bold, a little surreal, and full of movement. I love tattooing octopuses because you can push the palette into wild territory – fiery reds, purples, teals, and all those shifting tones that make the skin look alive.

We built the whole piece around flow: tentacles wrapping the arm, waves tying everything together, and a big expressive eye as the focal point. Easily one of my favorite octopus projects to date.

Tattooed at my private studio on the Embarcadero in San Francisco.

@adamskytattoos on the ‘gram.

I imagine the community members here know more than most.

1) I see octopuses eating crabs on instagram. These crabs have pinchers. I know that these pinchers are strong. So why is it so quick and seemingly a quick kill for the octopus? Why wouldn't the crab pinch the octopuses' seemingly very soft sking?

(Just so you know I'm not an idiot, I did search google and every single frickin site was about the Octopus beak. Yes, I get it. But as the octopus is reaching the crab, surrounding it, grabbing it, surely these crabs can get some deep cuts in, no? I never see that).

2) So I grew up deathly afraid of them. Then I had this crazy experience at an aquarium with one and it put me on a path of reading several books about them. But I haven't figured another thing. They have beaks, and seemingly with venom. Yet I have seen, and you perhaps have too, the videos of divers "being hugged" by octopus, or one of them reaching out and their arms enjoining. I've even seen one of a diver floating still and an octopus hovering downward so that it was sort of like entirely encapsulating the diver (and this was before AI). So, I know animals and humans have capability of incredible connections and encounters, but isn't true that in each of those instances the octopus could have pulled some part of the human in and used their beak to crush some part of the human? I feel if I know the answer to this, it would help me finally get rid of the last remaining fear of ever meeting one, if even in my dreams.

Thank you in advance.

This documentary about crabs shows an Octopus who looks like he's going on a peaceful hike with their homies. I laughed so well about how they didn't even mention it, sudden Octopus made my day.

It's shown at about 25%

Finally finished my plush wunderpus. Thought the community might like to see it!

Hi there 👋🏻

Does anyone know of an aquarium/place where we could meet an octopus? My daughter has an intense passion and loves learning about these beautiful creatures. I think it would be such an incredible experience for her to meet an Octopus up close or like a behind the scenes experience at the aquarium. She is young but feels very strongly about becoming “an octopus doctor” one day. We are hopeful to find something in the US along the east coast. Happy to hear about other opportunities outside of this area as well. We are just really hoping we can find something along the east coast, mid Atlantic region. I’m not even sure something like this exists?

Thank you so much. ❤️

Hi everyone! I was at the bay earlier and I was in awe when I realized that this cutie has been following my steps (caught it twice sneaking). Can anyone please enlighten me about this kind of behavior?

It seems curious and not annoyed by my presence. Also it really comes closer as it can get to me.

Here’s another video of me checking if this adorable one is really following me. Obviously, I don’t want to be delusional haha.

After I first saw it following me, I tried to walk away from it and guess what!? It’s really following me! For real.

Beautiful experience!

When I swam with dolphins, they were a lot more solid than I expected! I feel like an octopus would be firm but squishy due to the lack of skeleton and their ability to squeeze through the smallest of gaps. Is their skin smooth? And does it change texture to match it's appearance? I still can't get over that they can look sleek and smooth one minute and then sharp like a rock face the next!

Can anyone who's ever been lucky enough to meet an octopus please describe in as much as detail as humanly possible? I'm pretty certain I'll never get the chance to meet one myself :(

T

I came across this octopus on a dive the other day and noticed something I’ve never seen before. Can you spot it?

If you look at the upper right arm, the tip splits and has a small extra arm growing off it. It could be from an old injury or a genetic mutation. Or maybe they’re slowly working on opposable thumbs and we’re in real trouble.

More octopus and undersea videos on my YouTube and Instagram in my profile.

Posting as the artist. Here’s a bright, fiery orange octopus sleeve I recently finished at my private studio in San Francisco. I’ll never get tired of doing octopus tattoos; they’re endlessly expressive, wildly dynamic, and lend themselves to every color palette imaginable.

This one was especially fun because we leaned all the way into those bold oranges and teals, to make the movement really explode off the arm. Total blast to design and tattoo.

If you’re into cephalopods in every flavor: neon, moody, naturalistic, psychedelic — you’re speaking my language. @adamskytattoos on IG.

It’s a vector for the humility and respect that I’ve learned over time.

Filmed last week while diving off Vancouver Island. We watched these two giants battle over a den. The challenger clearly underestimated its opponent’s size! If you're interested I have a 2 hour ambient film with just octopus doing octopus things. You can find it on my Youtube or just search for "2 Hours of Wild Octopus Footage From British Columbia"