Octopus are known to be one of the most intelligent animals in the ocean, and after watching this video, it’s obvious that they’re among the most curious as well.
Diver Timothy Ewing was scuba diving last week off Kona, Hawaii when he came across this octopus hiding behind a rock. He set up a GoPro camera on a compact tripod behind the octopus, then swam around to get a look at him from the other side of the rock.
Tim tells us more:
“I dive often enough that I have learned to see octopus regularly at the local dive sites. I was interacting with that octopus for about 10 minutes before I took the video. I normally mount my GoPro to my big camera housing, however I always carry a small tripod with me to use with the GoPro for stationary shots like this or selfie videos.”
Here’s a shot that shows the GoPro positioned behind the octopus in the video above. Photo © Timothy Ewing.
And who is the diver in the video wearing what looks like gear from the early days of diving? It’s Tim, wearing his favorite setup.
“The diver that you see in the video with the Vintage Setup is me. When I am not working or teaching, I dive with a 70’s era Royal Aquamaster Regulator by Aqualung, no BCD or gauges – just a backpack and wrist computer.”
Because this species of Octopus feeds during daylight hours, its ability to camouflage are exceptional. The octopus can produce a variety of color patterns and elaborate skin textures that resemble the ocean substrate around them making them virtually invisible to predators. Their complex brain sends nervous impulses to their muscles causing them to change almost instantly as they move over sand, coral, rubble and other surfaces. One day octopus was observed by octopus biologist Roger Hanlon changing patterns 1,000 times over a 7 hour period off the coast of Hawaii.