. . . is crazy. It's been a known entity for a long time, but what makes these sea creatures so fascinating is that so many scientists were wrong over the years and it looks like H.P. Lovecraft was coincidentally right. It all comes down to measuring intelligence vs human intelligence, which is always the case; but it's a mystery of the deep, alright. They can genetically code themselves to better survive their environment, can change color in a nanosecond, solve complex puzzles, act out if they're bored in captivity, make plans, and ace The Marshmallow Test. 2/3 of their intelligence is in their tentacles, and there's debate if they can somehow "see" with them in some intangible manner. Lose a tentacle? Grow another one, it's pretty a much brain injury replacement. They can recognize faces and learn from photographs. Squid and cuttlefish are also very intelligent, but Octupus are the kings of the ocean. Very fascinating. More later if anyone is interested. I'm a vegetarian/pescatarian, but I feel bad for eating them now. : /
There are some very smart animals out there. The octopus catches our eye but the cetaceans and the corvidae are amazing also.
A shit ton of cultures eat them like crazy. They put out clay pots to catch them in Sicily. Big in Spain, Italy, pretty much all around the world. We used to have octopus salad on Christmas Eve when I was a kid. Knowing how smart they are just makes me feel kind of bad. There are stories where they will start devouring one another in order to avoid being caught/mass fished. Pretty metal. There's no denying that there's some type of cognizance there.
We're lucky we're the clade that developed fingers. We'd be fried calamari or picking roadkill up and dodging cars if it was the other way around.
Best thread ever. Just went to YouTube. This is what I found. I now believe in Aliens lol these creatures these guys have special powers to change drastic colors within the blink of an eye this is nuts to me
My wife once left the restaurant in New Orleans when I wanted to try the turtle soup for much the same reason. Something about not eating an animal that might be a hundred years old.
Ha, yeah, I won't do turtles, either. I have a photo of a huge snapping turtle I took. The turtle got displaced (long story why and how). The carapace was over 2 feet in diameter (not kidding), so it had to be at least 50 years old. It's on an SD card from my old phone somewhere. Called the DEC in Albany, a local nature museum, couldn't get anyone to help. One guy from the DEC told me have it bite on a broom handle and then have someone else push it from behind into a recycle bin (to relocate it to a creek). Uh, you're not hearing me, it's a lot bigger than a recycle bin and it's gonna whip its head around and get me. It was kind of chilly out so it was slugggish, but I wasn't touching that thing. I never saw anything like that, it was like a friggin' dinosaur. After about 3 hrs it wound up across the street on someone's lawn. They have a kid, so I left a note on their door for them to watch it. I had to go to work, but when I got home, it was gone (not sure what happened). It probably ate a few cats and a couple of people. I should dig that photo out, it's really unreal.
I helped a big one across the road last summer. 2 hand right at the back of the shell close to the tail and dragged him right off the road . Some kid had stopped and was trying to push him with a branch. He wasn’t getting anywhere and he was sending him back from where he came from. When you’re helping a turtle you have to carry him the direction he is heading. Otherwise you’re just setting him back on his journey. i have a painter turtle that’s laid eggs in my yard for 3 years straight now. I fence in the area so my dogs don’t dig up the nest , I’ve yet to see the little ones hatch though. Bad timing.
Turtle intelligence is basically about knowing how and when to duck and cover. The crows on the other hand are smarter than the average human.
I've been through the whole Corvid thing on here before as mentioned. I should find the thread. Haha, one time when Ray Lewis was carrying on (although he was a Raven), I said no wonder a flock of crows is called a Murder. I don't care if I'm going to Hell for that one.
You're lucky. Their necks are extremely long and they can nail you. I really need to dig that photo out, it's really unbelievable. I love Painted Turtles, Box Turtles, too. I came across something extremely rare one day on a back road. I admit that I don't know what it was, but the turtle's head was bright lime green, had some red under its chin, and the shell was almost square. It was in the middle of the road. It was a Woodland species of course, but it kept inflating itself like a balloon and snapping its shell with hard pops. Craziest thing ever. I tried looking it up once, but I was never able to find anything that looked remotely like it. He was a little bigger than a softball. I did manage to get him on his way, embarrassing stick and all. : /
If we wipe ourselves out but leave the Octopus standing they are probably no more than 30 million years away from taking over as the dominant species. Well, maybe 60 million. Sounds like a lot of time but 60 million years ago our ancestors were rodents.
It'll be a Crow vs Octopus War for dominance. Cuttlefish and squid as henchmen. They're pretty smart, too.
No luck. I know how far back they can reach. I like to tap the on the back and see how far he can stretch before I grab them , I’ve run into a couple that were too big to help like that. I try to piss them off so they just keep lunging across the road at me.
Good strategy. My Pleistocene Era monster had to be 80 + lbs, no joke. I really am gonna dig that out, I kind of have to now. It might take me a month to find it. I'm a crap archivist.
This really freaks me out. I wonder if they can pass remedial math. I saw something where one of them solved the Rubik's Cube, but I think it's bullshit
