Does this octopus dream in color? Maybe, maybe not
In this excerpt from the PBS series Nature, Heidi the octopus sleeps in her tank and exhibits an amazing range of colors and patterns, from ghostly white to midnight black, which suggests she’s dreaming about a successful hunt. But it she really? Because the brains of humans and octopus are so different, caution scientists quoted in the New York Times, we can’t jump to that conclusion. Still, one can dream. (via Laura H.)
That is exquisite!
Really. Octopuses are so amazing and touching. That they only live two or so years!
Kinda reminds me of a lava lamp with all the changing colors.
In other words, she’s dreaming of being FREE you dunderhead, not cooped up in a tiny little tank!
(Don’t like to be a nuffer, but I hate seeing a beautiful creature like that caged.)
I saw this documentary, and Heidi seemed very,very bonded with her humans.They have frequent,everyday interaction time with her including playtime.It is worth watching.
But,being a research subject does have a cost.
about to say, his daughter turns the tv screen towards the tank and they watch nature documentaries together.
they’re clearly bonded to her and that’s a huge tank relative to her size.
I also felt the same way as Jan B. seeing her confined in the tank.It made me kind of cringe thinking about whether she was happy or actually unhappy.I dont know.
They seem to respect her habits, and offer playful stimulation not just scientific experiments.
I mean, contrast this with Otto, a male octopus at a German aquarium that is open to the public. His antics of juggling crabs and turning out the light got him into the papers. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/3328480/Otto-the-octopus-wrecks-havoc.html.
But once you read the article and think about it a little bit, you get the impression that he’s very frustrated. Of course he’s taking it on the crabs, and shooting water jets at the huge light bulb. How could he not be if there is a 2000 Watt bulb (!) shining on his tank all the time, day and night? Wouldn’t you be angry if there was a light you couldn’t turn off, and it was preventing you from sleeping?
Messing with the natural circadian rhythm of any animal, no matter how primitive is not pleasant for them. Unlike people, they are not used to artificial light sources or artificial water environments to adapt easily. You can’t blame them for being sensitive. Humans can never re-create the rich environment of the ocean in a tank, no matter how accurately you try to reproduce the salinity, acidity, bacteria, etc. of the real ocean.