Over on stuff.co.nz, there is a spectacular video of an octopus that grabs a diver’s video camera and swims off with it. Much of the video is a surreal blur, because the octopus is all wrapped around the camera, but that just adds to the charm…and there are also plenty of shots of the beautiful animal as it and the diver wrestle.
I’d imbed the video here, too, but that site doesn’t make it easy to extract the code, tangling it all up in javascript. That’s when I realized the octopus’s real intent: he wanted to make videos that were shareable and publicly accessible.
I think this video is on YouTube: octopus steals my video camera…
Cephalopod joy!
It’s a pity your nature articles never get many comments, P.Z.
I mean, sheesh, we all need a break form excoriating fundie stupidity.
That was awesome.
This video totally made my day! Thank you for posting this PZ!! Out of curiosity (and ignorance), does the color of the octopus mean anything? Like, maybe anger?
I am always mesmerized when I watch an octopus in an aquarium. My wife literally has to pull me away to go look at some other exhibit (usually the sharks and rays, of course.)
I’ve never seen an octopus in an aquarium. I’ve been to several aquariums that claim to contain octopuses but they’re always hiding in some nook or cranny. I think they’re a myth.
Ugh, there’s so much camera shake, the video is blurry, and the lens is never pointed at anything interesting!
Octopuses make poor videographers. :P
HJ Hornbeck
You’ll notice that the octopus is missing the ends of some of its tentacles. I think it’s a repeat offender.
If I were an octopus, I’d want a speargun and a video camera in my garden, too.
Blondin, I have video proof of one at Berlin Zoo. ;) Skip to 8:00. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWehFLFg_5E
Here is the embed code
< embed width="620" height="385" wmode="opaque" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://static.stuff.co.nz/flash/mediaplayer.swf" pluginspage="http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer" flashvars="mediaXML=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stuff.co.nz%2Fxml%2Fvideo%2F3590860" >
Here’s the embed code for non-IE browsers:
<embed width=”620″ height=”385″ type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” src=”http://static.stuff.co.nz/flash/mediaplayer.swf” pluginspage=”http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer” flashvars=”mediaXML=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stuff.co.nz%2Fxml%2Fvideo%2F3590860″ />
This might give J*hn Kw*k ideas.
So the future Cephalopod master of the earth are now taking and analyzing advanced technology. Soon it will be laser armed squid sweeping the sea clean of ships. Then R’lyeh will rise and Great Cthulhu will rule the world once again.
I thought the last song was perfect not only for the video but also appropriate for any time PZ features cute cephalopods.
Legit download from the band’s site
Lyrics:
I love you octopus
I love you octopus
I think it’s great that you’ve got 8 wobbly arms
I can never see you with your crazy camouflage
I think you’re busting, you are surreal
better than the fish, the sharks and even the conga eel
Because
I love you octopus
I love you octopus
I wish I was as rich as the English king and queen
I’d spend my money on a brand new submarine
I’d swim with the dolphins, like Jacques Cousteau
At the end of the evening we’d have a real big fish disco
Because
I love you octopus
I love you octopus
Silly octopus! :D
I am quite sure the octopus was some form of child star and one more camera documenting “Where Are They Now” was just one more camera too many. Really, can you blame him for snatching instead of running?
I love nature. It never wants to go to some silly human’s plan.
Yeah, when a paparazzo goes for those salacious up-mantle shots, he ought to expect this sort of reaction.
I loved the video! Cheeky octopus. The song was perfect, too.
Perhaps the octopus wanted to make amateur octopi porn.
Good thing he didn’t let the octopus take his spear gun. It probably would have shot him so it could take the camera back.
Haha, great clip. I think that he’s done that sort of thing before! :-)
It’s on YouTube! You should be able to embed from there pretty easily.
The website embeds this content after one step of indirection.
http://file.stuff.co.nz/1271388923/861/3590861.mp4
This is easily playable or downloadable for your pleasure.
S
It’s just a short step downhill from stealing cameras to this:
http://www.blender.org/uploads/pics/bobby960.jpg
You can embed it from here as well:
or direct
http://s231.photobucket.com/albums/ee50/NGC224isM31/?action=view¤t=3590861.flv
Since the stuff.co.nz server is a bit slow, being in NZ, which is a bit far from me, anyway, this might be faster. Apparently, they don’t use a CDN, but I’m not going to go check.
Oh, crap. I didn’t actually mean to embed that, but show the code. Bad HTML-fu. Bad, bad.
This is where post-editing would come in handy. For those who forget to properly check their work before they post, like me.
That was a great video. The octopus should get an oscar for documentary film making. The Vancouver aquarium has an octopus. You can see her (I’m told it’s a her) if you’re patient.
This might give J*hn Kw*k ideas.
Indeed, I think this may be the first footage of the fabled Kwoktopus.
I thought this was in the seas off Sheepland, not in some High School aquarium.