I picked up this 2015 memoir by naturalist Sy Montgomery to learn more about octopuses after I caught wind of a news blurb about Inky the octopus who made a daring, Shawshank Redemption worthy escape from the National Aquarium of New Zealand. According to an article by NPR’s Scott Simon, evidence showed that the determined octopus “squeezed through a slight gap at the top of his tank, flopped to the floor, then slithered about eight feet overland to slide down a drainpipe more than 160 feet long, and finally to plop into the bay.” (Inky, wherever you are, I hope you’re happy.)
Wow, I thought, how incredible is that? I soon learned, however, that an incident like Inky’s is not unheard of. According to Ms. Montgomery, escaping octopuses are so commonplace, most aquariums now have their octopus tanks equipped with escape-proof lids.
Okay, so when you imagine an octopus, what do you envision? A monster like in Jules Verne’s 1870 sci-fi novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea? Or an alien species? Its anatomy is, after all, out of this world. “We go: head, body, limbs. They go: body, head, limbs.” Wait! There’s more. They also have three hearts, nine brains, and blue blood. Still, in spite of all this, I, for one, am amazed at how differently I came to feel about an animal who in my eyes could have easily been cast as a sidekick to the infamous creature from the Black Lagoon.
While there are 250 or so species of octopus, the author focuses on the giant Pacific octopuses she befriends (yes, befriends) at Boston’s New England Aquarium. Her mission to get up close and personal with these baggy, eight-armed cephalopods (under the strict supervision of the aquarium’s trained staff) begins with the gentle (yes, I said gentle) Athena. After plunging her arms into the cold 47 degree Fahrenheit water of Athena’s tank, the author writes: “Twisting, gelatinous, her [Athena’s] arms boil up from the water, reaching for mine. Instantly both my hands and forearms are engulfed by dozens of soft, questing suckers.” Of this first experience, Ms. Montgomery interestingly enough likens the octopus’s touch to an alien’s kiss. I’d like to weigh in and add that it was at this point Ms. Montgomery became totally smitten with her subject. This initial connection, in fact, is so powerful she eventually takes on the rigors of scuba diving in order to view octopus in the wild.
Now for some facts: “The giant Pacific octopus is one of the world’s most efficient carnivores in converting food into body mass. Hatching from an egg the size of a grain of rice weighing three-tenths of a gram, a baby giant Pacific octopus doubles its weight every eighty days until it reaches about 44 pounds, then doubles its weight every four months until maturity.”
Additionally, did you know that octopuses, in general, have beaks much like a parrot’s, allowing them to consume things like crab? Did you know “An octopus’s arm muscles, by one calculation, are capable of resisting a pull one hundred times the octopus’s own weight?” Did you know that “octopuses live fast and die young?” The giant Pacific, for example, averages a life span of only three to four years. And did you know that an octopus’s suckers are like the taste buds on a human tongue?
It may also surprise you to know that the octopus is known for its inquisitiveness, intelligence, and ability to learn. (Google “YouTube, octopus intelligence” and see for yourself. You will be amazed.)
As Ms. Montgomery tenderly recounts each of her many, close encounters, she does so with a writing style that is exquisite, even poetic at times. For instance, she says of Athena: “her head is silky and softer than custard” and “Athena rises up from her lair like steam from a pot.” And of another octopus by the name of Kali, she says: “Then Kali fluffs up her suckers on her arms like the frills on a petticoat and waves her arms at us.” Through Ms. Montgomery’s eyes, we truly get a glimpse of these beings’ majestic qualities. I am reminded of the old adage: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
With that said, whether you read this book or not, the next time you visit an aquarium, you may, at the very least, rethink these animals … or any animal, for that matter. As Wilson, a former engineer and the New England Aquarium’s most experienced octopus volunteer, puts it: “We’re only starting to understand animals.”
As for me, thanks to Ms. Montgomery’s deep devotion to bringing a better understanding of this species to light, I believe that I have come to know, without having actually met one, the soul of an octopus.
RATING: 5 out of 5 stars
Comment: I love books that are entertaining and educational at the same time. Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is one of my favorite novels...and movies. I’m not sure, but I think Captain Nemo’s Nautilus submarine was attacked by a Giant Squid (a kissing cousin of a octopus?). Here is the attack caught on camera (just kidding):
http://amzn.to/1TQRajq
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