Oceans are home to some of the most fascinating and mysterious creatures that have survived on our planet for millions of years. One of them is the eight-limbed, soft-bodied mollusk, octopus.
Interestingly, a new National Geographic documentary series titled Secrets of the Octopus delves into the enchanting world of these marine creatures. Its producer is the popular filmmaker, James Cameron, and its narrator is American actor and comedian, Paul Rudd. Cameron is best known for creating iconic movies such as The Terminator, True Lies, The Abyss, and Titanic. Meanwhile, Rudd starred in films like The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Knocked Up, etc.
According to Forbes, Secrets of the Octopus takes a closer look at octopuses’ extraordinary physiological, cognitive, and behavioral traits. In addition, researchers and scientists made stunning discoveries that concluded that these spectacular creatures are more “human-like” than we know. Per National Geographic’s official website, the synopsis of Secrets of the Octopus reads, “In every ocean…just beyond our shores…lives an animal with characteristics we think of as “human” – intelligent, social, curious, gentle, and fierce. They build cities, use tools, and collaborate with other species to hunt. They have personalities – some are bold, while others shy.”
It further reads, “These animals can change their skin color, texture, and body shape in a blink of an eye and see in wavelengths beyond our vision. Recent studies reveal octopuses’ consciousness, sophisticated decision-making, and unique personalities. On tropical reefs, in frigid waters, from the shoreline to the deep sea and everywhere in between, the octopus have made a home. Join us as we reveal “Secrets of the Octopus”.
National Geographic created this mind-boggling project to celebrate Earth Day, 2024.
How long did it take to film Secrets of the Octopus?
Secrets of the Octopus is a part of National Geographic’s popular “Secrets of” documentary series, which commenced in 2021 with Sigourney Weaver-narrated Secrets of the Whales. Subsequently in 2023, the network released Secrets of the Elephants, with narrator Natalie Portman at the helm.
Secrets of the Octopus consists of three episodes titled, Shapeshifters, Masterminds, and Social Networkers. According to Ars Technica, the documentary series was created by filming octopuses for over 200 days. There were several skilled scientists and researchers involved in this project, however, Dr. Alex Schnell has a special interest in these eight-limbed marine creatures.
In an interview with Ars Technica, Schnell revealed that she developed an interest in octopuses when she was a young girl. The Australian scientist stated that she grew up around beaches and spent an ample amount of her childhood in water and rockpools, searching for creatures to observe.
Eventually, coming face-to-face with an octopus when she was 5 made her believe that she was born to become a marine biologist. She said, “I had this pivotal moment when I was young. I had the luxury of actually growing up on the beaches of Sydney, so I would spend a lot of time in the water, in rock pools, looking at all the critters. When I was about 5 years old, I met my first octopus. It was such a monumental moment that opened up a completely different world for me. That’s the day I decided I wanted to be a marine biologist.”
Dr. Alex Schnell explained how octopuses communicate
In the aforementioned conversation with Ars Technica, Dr. Alex Schnell said that octopuses’ mode of communication was via changing the colors and patterns of their skin. In addition, the eight-limbed creatures can also change their posture to relay a message. One particular species possesses the ability for cross-species communication, which they use to hunt with some reef fish. Interestingly, Schnell was unaware of this behavior until she got the opportunity to witness it in person.
Dr. Alex Schnell explained how she took a special interest in a day octopus named Scarlet, who let her follow it on hunts. The researcher noticed the creature’s “human-like” traits and discovered with shock that Scarlet understood her. Apparently, Schnell pointed toward the direction of the octopus’ food, and the creature swam towards it. Dr. Alex Schnell stated, “I had this kind of playful idea while I was down there with a Day octopus named Scarlet. Who was allowing me to follow her on a lot of her hunts? Because I was so close to her, I noticed she was missing little crabs here and there.”
She further said, “Normally her fish hunting partner will do a headstand to point to where the missed food is. I thought, I wonder what’s going to happen if I just point at it. Not expecting anything. To my astonishment, she responded and swum right over and looked where I had pointed.”
Reports suggest that she researches the mental capacity of cuttlefish and octopuses. Furthermore, she has worked at prestigious institutes such as the University of Cambridge, Macquarie University, and the Marine Biological Laboratory.
