Friday Cephalopod: They’re evolving wings!


Forget that goofy crocoduck. I want a cephalogull.

Actually, this isn’t an octopus growing bird wings. I have a whole series of violent photos of the event — it’s a very cunning octopus that oozed up to the Ogden Point breakwater in Victoria, BC, reached up silently with it’s suckered arms, and dragged a seagull down to a watery doom, and a tasty fowl dinner. If you were eating nothing but crab every day you might want to try something different too.

Also, take that, bird fans!

(Also on Sb)

Comments

  1. fastlane says

    Your ‘also on SB’ link points back to here. You need a better code monkey. =P

  2. quoderatdemonstrandum says

    what a relief! For a minute there I thought the seagull was eating the octopus.

    Of course that was a silly thought, brilliant cephalopods are way too smart for stupid birds.

  3. says

    Nope, I need slower readers. I post to both sites with a blank url, get the address from each, and update the two posts. If you click within a minute of me posting the crossposted articles, you’ll catch them before the update.

  4. Dhorvath, OM says

    I, ah, have spent time at Ogden point and nearby, it being in my backyard so to speak. Now I am doubly sure that I won’t be swimming off the island anytime soon.

  5. consciousness razor says

    If you were eating nothing but crab every day you might want to try something different too.

    Maybe it should try the calamari next time. That’s probably much tastier than seagull.

  6. FilthyHuman says

    How nice for that octopus to fatten itself up so it will be nice and juicy on my dinner plate.

  7. 'Tis Himself, OM says

    I have a whole series of violent photos of the event

    Why am I not surprised that PZ has gull snuff porn.

  8. roggg says

    I dont see a whole series of violent photos. Would like to see a whole series of violent photos…

  9. chigau (違う) says

    wmdon
    You are special!! Yes, you are!!
    -now post the photos somewhere :) (please)

  10. TonyJ says

    Awesome. I hate birds. I’ve never had an octopus crap on my car right after I washed and waxed it.

  11. cultureclash says

    Hey when you think about it what you have here is an octopus eating a dinosaur…
    Which is even cooler.

    Also want to see the rest of the violent photos and also to stop thinking that they should be photos of violence and not violent photos which sound like the monster book of monsters… But I can’t see that happening any time soon.

  12. says

    @ Katherine “Plus we’re all friendly!”

    I’m not! [/Python]
    +++++++++++++++
    I’m a little surprised the octopus was so obvious, I would have thought he would have lured the seagull in by a more devious method.

    And “tastes like chicken” FTW!

  13. Menyambal -- damned dirty ape says

    Yeah, I thought the wings look like pigeon, too. Both in shape and color.

  14. chigau (違う) says

    See. That’s why we need a series of violent photos.
    For identification purposes.
    For Science!

  15. Menyambal -- damned dirty ape says

    After a bit of rooting around the ‘Net, I’ll now say the wings look like a gull, rather than a pigeon. But, as Markita Lynda says, probably a juvenile.

    I could find no images that weren’t copied from here, but found an old newspaper account of someone watching an octopus catching a gull.

  16. Oleander Tea, Keeper of A Little Knowledge says

    First Otto the Octopus juggling hermit crabs and now this unnamed-by-humans octopus getting supper by stealth. I’m starting to really be impressed with those sea beasties.

    I’m also re-thinking my snorkeling hobby. Today small birds, tomorrow tall girls.

  17. brix1234 says

    The octopus is cool! Do you have a video of the octopus catching the bird? I didn’t know that they can do that! They rock! :)

    “Brix” for pot catalytique