Hey Bill! Thanks for having me down to learn about your octopus exhibit! Absolutely! Great having you back! So this is the new behind the scenes! I know! This tank was just newly renovated back in April. It just opened up for our "Tentacles" theme program. And of course the stars of the show, the animals with the tentacles. Yup, we'll go around this side and show you right here, this is our octopus exhibit.
Nice strong latches on the door. Wow! You have got to have some security! So tell me about the astroturf. The astroturf is a way to deter them from escaping the tank. They can't get a suction grip on the astroturf so they can't climb the walls to get out.
And if you didn't have this, they would get out? They would! They are very curious and they love to explore new areas, so they would just constantly find their way, and they would climb the walls or climb to a spot and get out. So they are exactly like Hank! They are exactly like Hank! They will escape and they will find their way! Wow, that's a very clever way to keep them in there huh? Does she have a name? She does. This is Sy. How do you spell that? S-Y.
Easy to remember. Sy? Sy. Alright Sy, we need some cooperation, but there's going to be something in it for you! The first thing Bill shows me is how he feeds the octopuses. Zip-tie and a long pole is the easiest way to reach them without getting wet.
OK. I'll give her a little tap and wake her up. Uh oh she's already got it. Once she gets a taste of fish, she comes out for more and I can really see how big Sy is.
I interact like this on a regular basis, so she recognizes me. She also associates me with food because I feed her. You can see how big she is, spreading across the tank. Wow, how big is she? That's like 6 feet across, more than 6 feet.
More than 6 feet across. I'll probably give her 10 feet across when she is fully stretched out. And how much do you think she weighs? I would probably say she weighs about 35 pounds. That is a big cephalopod! Give her the fish, she takes it.
She takes it right to her mouth on her beak, which is right in the center of all of her arms. [ Funny music ] Well that was quick. You want to feed her one? Sure. A shrimp? OK so what do I do? Just stick it in one of her arms and her suction cups.
Let her grab it. Oh, there she goes. That's it. Must be hard to manipulate all those arms and suckers.
They seem to do a good job at it! So if I put my hand down, is she going to suck on? Yes she will. So reach out and touch a little right there, let her grab on to you. Oh that is so cool. [Laughs] Ooh that's the weirdest feeling ever! And the weird thing about it is that they're cold! Do you think they like the warmth? They like the feel of it? Or they're just curious? I think it's a lot of curiosity.
They can taste with their suction cups. That's how they recognize differences in people is the taste, a lot of times. They can also recognize people by sight as well, but I think it's the difference in people and how they taste and what's going on. How they taste? How do I taste? I showered this morning, I shouldn't taste too bad.
She's working her way up here. Yup. That's the hard part part when you interact with these things. You have to be mindful of all eight of their arms, you can't just look at the one that's on to you, there are other ones sneaking up the sides that you have to be aware of as well.
She's trying to get in here. Where's she going? Wow, that is smooth! Smooth and cold. Very cold. Well, they are very cold animals.
They are found in the Pacific northwest, all the way from Alaska to northern California. Oh hello! I've been squirted! There's one siphon on the bottom where they can go to the left side or the right side. They can point it and squirt you with it. [Laughing] As if on cue! She's like "Yeah, that's how it works!" [Laughing] She's no dummy! She's listening! You want to do it? OK.
Somewhere in here? There we go, right there. I got this and you haven't. Yoo hoo! Got it? I was trying to fight her for it. Oh jeez! [Laughs] Camera destroyed by an octopus.
She's got me! Is she doing that on purpose? Yes! What a stinker! Oh my goodness, so funny! Bill gives her a few more fish so she gets enough food for the day. And I can't resist holding hands with her. The suction cups feel so cool! I'm telling ya, that is one cold handshake! That's like shaking hands with a snowman. With suction cups.
Uh oh, this can't be good. This is bad. Protect the shirt. Wow, she is strong, man! She is strong.
And heavy. Bill has to pull Sy's arm off of mine, but it doesn't hurt the octopus or me. Suction cups! [Sound of suction cups being pulled off] To learn more about the Giant Pacific Octopus, Bill and I are heading from Boston to Seattle--octopus central. Six hours on a plane and we can dive with the Giant Pacific Octopus in the actual Pacific ocean.
Seattle is a beautiful city right on the shore of Puget Sound. But it's also known for being rainy. Like really rainy. [Thunder] So we're not surprised that when we arrive, its pouring.
But we won't let a little rain spoil our fun. We hope in our rental van, and head on over to our first stop, the Seattle Aquarium. Hi Kathryn! Hi Jonathan, good morning! Nice to meet you! Nice to meet you! Where I meet aquarist Kathryn Kegel. And there's an octopus in here? There is.
There's actually two in there. Let's check it out!! Alright! Thanks! The Seattle Aquarium is a beautiful facility, which focuses most of its exhibits on marine life of the Pacific Northwest. The underwater dome puts the visitor right in the middle of a prolific kelp forest. You can meet sea otters and harbor seals.
As well as freshwater life, jellyfish and more. But I'm most interested in this killer exhibit... ...The Giant Pacific Octopus. Kathryn introduces me to Lucy.
This is our female octopus Lucy and she is probably about 2-1/2 to 3 years old. She is close to about 40 pounds and she is pretty active this morning. I think she knew you were coming. Is she always swimming around like this? So um they tend to be den-dwelling animals out in the wild.
So during the day they are going to be denned up and sleeping. They are active at night and early in the morning, and early evening so it's pretty early in the morning here, so she is out and crawling around. What do you normally feed her? So these guys love crabs. So out in the wild they're hunting crabs, they're going after clams, shrimp, we have some dungeness crab for her this morning so when she settles down we can give her some crab and see if she'll eat it.
She is showing off a little bit, this is kind of a hunting behavior for them. When they're out and they're looking for crab they're going to swim and they'll actually balloon down onto their food, trap it, they will release a toxin that will paralyze the animal so that they can now take it apart piece by piece and eat that crab. While Lucy is giving us a show, there's another octopus in the tank just chilling out. Let's see this other guy over here that you're got.
Yeah, so that was our female and this is our male Odie. It's time for Odie to be fed, so Kathryn is going to give him a big delicious crab! We've got some Dungeness crab here. This is some of their absolute favorite food. Now that looks like local crab.
It is. This is local crab, a delicacy here in Seattle. Oh people eat them too? Oh yes, absolutely. This is food fit for people.
This is human grade food, yup, these guys eat better than we do here at the aquarium! [Laughs] We climb up to the top of the tank, and Kathryn suggests I give Odie the crab. If I were to feed him, what would I do, exactly? You want to just put him on his sucker disks. Really? So if I just go like this... Should I just drop it? Yes, you can just give it to him.
He will take it. Now he has lost interest in the light, hopefully. Oh I wouldn't...He's multi-talented. He's got 8 arms dude! He can multi-task with the best of them.
So he's got the light, and he's got the crab.... The next day, we load the van to head out to a popular local dive site. We're joining Kathryn and her team from the Seattle Aquarium in their annual Giant Pacific Octopus survey. The dive site is right across the bay from the city.
The octopus surveys are part of an ongoing effort by the aquarium to assess wild octopus populations. So Bill and I put our gear together to join them. We will be diving with drysuits, so we don our warm undergarments in the van. [ Struggling noises and laughing ] It's not working! I can't get my shoulder in! I don't know what your problem is.
In fact as the only dry place to work, our van has become our portable dive shop. That's always enjoyable! Alright! I take my camera down to the beach before we put on all the heavy stuff. [ Music ] Once we're suited up, it's time to hit the water. [ Music ] We swim out to deeper water before descending.
Don't go away! Coming up, Jonathan films an incredible octopus fight! Sinking into the green Puget Sound water, Bill and I follow Kathryn on her octopus hunt. Along the way, we are able to film some spectacular examples of Pacific Northwest marine life. An old pier piling is covered with 2 foot tall Plumose Anemones. We find a Chimaera, otherwise known as a ratfish.
The Chimaera is an ancient cousin to the shark. While it looks more like a bony fish, it has a cartilaginous skeleton like a shark. And while they're fairly common in deep water, the Pacific Northwest is one of the only places where they're found in scuba diving depths. To film this fish is a rare treat for me.
On the bottom, a sea cucumber. A Dungeness crab. A shrimp. A frosted Nudibranch.
And the lemon peel nudibranch. A Ling Cod watches as we pass by, but then Kathryn finds a Giant Pacific Octopus. It's a small one perched on a rock, as if he is using the rock as a lookout. As I'm about to discover, he really likes this rock.
From this high vantage point, he can keep an eye out for something to eat. But not far away, another octopus is watching him. This guy wants that rock for himself and he has a plan. He makes his move, stealthily moving in on the rock.
But the king of the hill easily sees him coming, and he's not about to give up his rock without a fight. [ Music ] An octopus' only weapon against another octopus is its powerful beak, located underneath its arms. Each octopus is attempting to bite the other one with its beak. The challenger retreats to rethink his position.
Should he call it a day? Or give it one last try? That is a really nice rock. He decides to go for it. But it's clear he cannot win this fight, and will not take the rock. The challenger retreats.
It's good to be the king! But his victory is short-lived. While the challenger ducks into a hole in defeat, another challenger is getting ready to move his move. A third octopus is watching. He's much smaller, and wouldn't fare well in a one-on-one confrontation with the larger animal that's defending the rock.
His plan is sneak attack. A stealthy approach underneath the rock. But it doesn't work. Retreat is the only option.
I could easily stay and film the exciting social lives of octopods all day. But alas, my air supply is limited. It's time to head back to the rainy world above. We work our way up into shallower water While we do a safety decompression stop at 15 feet, we have plenty to see.
Then we surface. Hey there you are! My Giant Pacific Octopus adventure has been quite an experience! Very strong! I visited two aquaria, where I got to learn about this super cephalopod. Yeah, you can just give it to him. Then I did dives in Puget Sound, where I met them in the wild, and even witnessed a spectacular octopus fight! I don't always get this lucky.
But when I do, it reminds me why the Blue World is my favorite place to be! [ Music ].
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