by Robyn White; Edited by News Gate Team
A rarely-seen giant Pacific octopus has been filmed swimming through an Oregon tidepool.
Luke Smith, an employee at the Bureau of Land Management, captured footage of the huge animal swimming slowly in the Yaquina Head pools, to the north of Newport.
Related Posts:
This species of octopus is only spotted in the local area a few times a year, the U.S. Department of the Interior said in a Facebook post. They are likely lurking in the waters more often than that, but the species is elusive.
In the video, the bright red octopus can be seen moving slowly through the waters. It uses its many legs to guide itself through the narrow waterway, briefly exposing its head from the water while doing so.
At the end of the video, the creature can be seen settling itself on a rock and changing its color to disguise itself.
Octopuses are known for being able to adapt to their surrounding environment. The species’ normal color is red or reddish brown, as seen at the video’s start. But they can change their colors and textures within seconds, to either yellow, brown, white, red or even a variety of speckled colors.
The largest species of octopus in the world is the huge Pacific octopus. The octopus in the video, despite its apparent size, is actually quite little for the species. Giant Pacific octopuses can reach lengths of up to 16 feet on average.
The creature can grow to be over 50 pounds when fully developed. The largest known huge Pacific octopus weighed 200 pounds and was 20 feet long.
The species is present over the whole Pacific Ocean, from the waters surrounding Asia to Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Because of its adaptability, the species can be found in both shallow areas like these tidepools and depths as deep as 4,900 feet.
A tidepool, such as the one shown in the video, is a shallow pool of water formed near the shore. The octopus in the video may have been hunting for prey in the shallow waters.
It is not certain how many giant Pacific octopuses are in the world. They are under threat from high pollution levels and commercial fisheries.
Octopuses are known for being extremely intelligent. Scientists have observed the animals displaying a range of complex behaviors in the past.
In November, a group of wild octopuses were caught throwing shells and other objects. A study into the behavior believed this was targeted aggression, perhaps in a bid to mark their territory.
by Robyn White; Edited by News Gate Team
