Octopus snatches coconut and runs

I like the way it tried to destroy evidence of its super-intelligence (and by implication its plan to take over the world) by eating the cameraman at the end.

Octopi are supposed to have about the same intelligence level at cats. They're amazing animals. But does this qualify as "tool use", when hermit crabs doing much the same thing with discarded shells doesn't?
 
I think it's more than just 'tool use', more like 'housing project'. :D I like the way it's riding it, so efficient!
 
If we don't boil them in the process of wiping ourselves out, it's nice to think that there is an intelligence waiting in the wings. The rise of the Octopods!
 
HareBrain said:
But does this qualify as "tool use", when hermit crabs doing much the same thing with discarded shells doesn't?
Click to expand...

I'd have thought there's a big difference between crawling inside a found item on the one hand, and picking it up and carrying it a distance and then using it on the other -- especially when the octopus is carrying two halves, one inside the other, but then separates them and puts them together to create a larger home. That bespeaks a greater level of intelligence than simply carting the shell on its back all the time.

I can't help wondering, though, whether the first octopus to do it was just trying to imitate the sound of horses' hooves...

J
 
Clearly the octopus was simply playing a bit of a shell game. The cephalopods really are intelligent creatures. It is a good thing fire is not possible in their domain or they would probably give us a run for our money.

Below is an excerpt from a site dealing with octopus intelligence.

Octopus: Encyclopedia II - Octopus - Intelligence
Octopus - Intelligence

Octopuses are highly intelligent, probably the most intelligent of any of the invertebrates, with their intelligence supposedly comparable to that of the average housecat. Maze and problem-solving experiments show that they have both short- and long-term memory, although their short lifespans limit the amount they can ultimately learn.
An octopus has a highly complex nervous system, only part of which is localized in its brain. Two-thirds of an octopus's neurons are found in the nerve cords of its arms, which have a remarkable amount of autonomy. Octopus arms show a wide variety of complex reflex actions arising on at least three different levels of the nervous system. Some octopuses, such as the mimic octopus, will move their arms in ways that emulate the movements of other sea creatures.
In laboratory experiments, octopuses can be readily trained to distinguish between different shapes and patterns. They are able to open jars after learning from observation.[1] Octopuses have also been observed in what may be described as play; repeatedly releasing bottles or toys into a circular current in their aquariums and then catching them. Octopuses often break out of their aquariums and sometimes into others in search of food. They have even boarded fishing ships and opened holds to eat crabs.
In many countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, octopuses are on the list of experimental animals on which surgery may not be performed without anesthesia.
 
The video is incredible. Hopefully they never learn to work with the dolphins against us.
 
Don't worry, Drachir, I'm not accusing you of performing surgery w/o anesthesia on octopi or anything else, just wondering what animals the US and UK do hack up w/o it. It was a shocking statement that brought quite horrific flashes to mind. I'm also wondering what the author meant by "expiramental" int hat quote. (not that I'm expecting an answer, just wondering aloud)

Now if they are as intellegent as cats, are cats as intellegent as octopuses? My cats certainly can't build anything.
 
BookStop said:
Don't worry, Drachir, I'm not accusing you of performing surgery w/o anesthesia on octopi or anything else, just wondering what animals the US and UK do hack up w/o it. It was a shocking statement that brought quite horrific flashes to mind. I'm also wondering what the author meant by "expiramental" int hat quote. (not that I'm expecting an answer, just wondering aloud)

Now if they are as intellegent as cats, are cats as intellegent as octopuses? My cats certainly can't build anything.
Click to expand...

My cat can. This may help answer your question.

Animal testing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
I'm a little perturbed by the fact that they kept saying octopuses, and not octopi.
You would have thought that a scientific article on Octopi would at least use the correct plural.

;)
 
If they were called octocats (sing. octocat) would they be safer from experimentation?



Perhaps not....
 
I have to question my own intelligence here, folks, because when I first pictured in my mind what I expected to see on the video, I thought of a giant octopus gathing up a bunch of (proportionately) tiny coconut shells and then stacking them into a shelter formation. :rolleyes:

I am laughing my butt off here! :)

I especially like the part at the end where it looked like the octopus was going to make off with the camera as well. :D
 
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